Visualization experiments of radiation heating on the eutectic reaction between BC-SS and its relocation behavior

Ahmed, Z.*; Sharma, A. K.*; Pellegrini, M.*; Yamano, Hidemasa; Okamoto, Koji*

Proceedings of Saudi International Conference On Nuclear Power Engineering (SCOPE2023) (Internet), 8 Pages, 2023/11

In this study, the eutectic behavior and subsequent melt structure of boron migration are observed by a quantitative and high-resolution visualization method using radiative heating. Experiments were conducted using B4C pellet and powder within SS tubes, replicating the actual control rod design in the temperature range of 1150C to 1372C to study long-duration melting and relocation behavior. The visualization technique accurately identified the time of eutectic melting onset and the related temperature, pointing out different values for the pellet and the powder cases.

Inverse estimation scheme of radioactive source distributions inside building rooms based on monitoring air dose rates using LASSO; Theory and demonstration

Shi, W.*; Machida, Masahiko; Yamada, Susumu; Yoshida, Toru*; Hasegawa, Yukihiro*; Okamoto, Koji*

Progress in Nuclear Energy, 162, p.104792_1 - 104792_19, 2023/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnucene.2023.104792

Predicting radioactive source distributions inside reactor building rooms based on monitoring air dose rates is one of the most essential steps towards decommissioning of nuclear power plants. However, the attempt is rather a difficult task, because it can be generally mapped onto mathematically ill-posed problem. Then, in order to successfully perform the inverse estimations on radioactive source distributions even in such ill-posed conditions, we suggest that a machine learning method, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) minimizing the loss function, is a promising scheme. For the purpose of its feasibility demonstrations in real building rooms, we employ PHITS code to make LASSO input as the above matrix C connecting the radioactive source vector P defined on surface meshes of structural materials with the air dose rate vector Q measured at internal positions inside the rooms. We develop a mathematical criterion on the number of monitoring points to correctly predict source distributions based on the theory of Candes and Tao. Then, we confirm that LASSO actually shows extremely high possibility for source distribution reconstructions as far as the number of detection points satisfies our criterion. Moreover, we verify that radioactive hot spots can be truly reconstructed in an experiment setup. At last, we examine an influence factor like detector-source distance to enhance the predicting possibility in the inverse estimation. From the above demonstrations, we propose that LASSO scheme is a quite useful way to explore hot spots as seen in damaged nuclear power plants like Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants.

Estimation for mass transfer coefficient under two-phase flow conditions using two gas components

Nanjo, Kotaro; Shiotsu, Hiroyuki; Maruyama, Yu; Sugiyama, Tomoyuki; Okamoto, Koji*

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 60(7), p.816 - 823, 2023/07

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2022.2146015

Research on improvement of HTGR core power-density, 4; Feasibility study for a reactor core

Okita, Shoichiro; Mizuta, Naoki; Takamatsu, Kuniyoshi; Goto, Minoru; Yoshida, Katsumi*; Nishimura, Yosuke*; Okamoto, Koji*

Proceedings of 30th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE30) (Internet), 10 Pages, 2023/05

LASSO reconstruction scheme to predict radioactive source distributions inside reactor building rooms; Practical applications

Machida, Masahiko; Shi, W.*; Yamada, Susumu; Miyamura, Hiroko; Yoshida, Toru*; Hasegawa, Yukihiro*; Okamoto, Koji; Aoki, Yuto; Ito, Rintaro; Yamaguchi, Takashi; et al.

Proceedings of Waste Management Symposia 2023 (WM2023) (Internet), 11 Pages, 2023/02

Revolatilization of iodine by bubbly flow in the suppression pool during an accident

Nanjo, Kotaro; Ishikawa, Jun; Sugiyama, Tomoyuki; Pellegrini, M.*; Okamoto, Koji*

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 59(11), p.1407 - 1416, 2022/11

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2022.2062065

Numerical investigations on the coolability and the re-criticality of a debris bed with the density-stratified configuration

Li, C.-Y.; Uchibori, Akihiro; Takata, Takashi; Pellegrini, M.*; Erkan, N.*; Okamoto, Koji*

Dai-25-Kai Doryoku, Enerugi Gijutsu Shimpojiumu Koen Rombunshu (Internet), 4 Pages, 2021/07

The capability of stable cooling and avoiding re-criticality on the debris bed are the main issues for achieving IVR (In-Vessel Retention). In the actual situation, the debris bed is composed of mixed-density debris particles. Hence, when these mixed-density debris particles were launched to re-distribute, the debris bed would possibly form a density-stratified distribution. For the proper evaluation of this scenario, the multi-physics model of CFD-DEM-Monte-Carlo based neutronics is established to investigate the coolability and re-criticality on the heterogeneous density-stratified debris bed with considering the particle relocation. The CFD-DEM model has been verified by utilizing water injection experiments on the mixed-density particle bed in the first portion of this research. In the second portion, the coupled system of the CFD-DEM-Monte-Carlo based neutronics model is applied to reactor cases. Afterward, the debris particles' movement, debris particles' and coolant's temperature, and the k-eff eigenvalue are successfully tracked. Ultimately, the relocation and stratification effects on debris bed's coolability and re-criticality had been quantitatively confirmed.

Investigation of high-temperature chemical interaction of calcium silicate insulation and cesium hydroxide

Rizaal, M.; Nakajima, Kunihisa; Saito, Takumi*; Osaka, Masahiko; Okamoto, Koji*

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 57(9), p.1062 - 1073, 2020/09

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2020.1755733

The interaction of cesium hydroxide and a calcium silicate insulation material was experimentally investigated at high temperature conditions. A thermogravimetry equipped with differential thermal analysis was used to analyze thermal events in the samples of mixed calcium silicate and cesium hydroxide under Ar-5%H and Ar-4%H-20%H0 with maximum temperature of 1100C. Prior being mixed with cesium hydroxide, a part of calcium silicate was pretreated at high temperature to evaluate the effect of possible structural changes of this material due to a preceding thermal history and also the sake of thermodynamic evaluation to those available ones. Based upon the initial condition (preliminary heat treatment) of calcium silicate, it was found that if the original material consisted of xonotlite (CaSi0(0H)), the endothermic reaction with cesium hydroxide occurred over the temperature range 575-730C meanwhile if the crystal phase of original material was changed to wollastonite (CaSi0), the interaction occurred over temperature range 700-1100C. Furthermore, the X-ray diffraction analyses have indicated on both type of pretreated calsils that regardless of Ar-5%H and Ar-4%H-20%H0 atmosphere, cesium aluminum silicate, CsAlSi0 was formed with aluminum in the samples as an impurity or adduct.

Study on plutonium burner high temperature gas-cooled reactor in Japan; Introduction scenario, reactor safety and fabrication tests of the 3S-TRISO fuel

Ueta, Shohei; Mizuta, Naoki; Fukaya, Yuji; Goto, Minoru; Tachibana, Yukio; Honda, Masaki*; Saiki, Yohei*; Takahashi, Masashi*; Ohira, Koichi*; Nakano, Masaaki*; et al.

Nuclear Engineering and Design, 357, p.110419_1 - 110419_10, 2020/02

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2019.110419

The concept of a plutonium (Pu) burner HTGR is proposed to incarnate highly-effective Pu utilization by its inherent safety features. The security and safety fuel (3S-TRISO fuel) employs the coated fuel particle with a fuel kernel made of plutonium dioxide (PuO) and yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) as an inert matrix. This paper presents feasibility study of Pu burner HTGR and R&D on the 3S-TRISO fuel.

Microstructures of ZrC coated kernels for fuel of Pu-burner high temperature gas-cooled reactor in Japan

Aihara, Jun; Ueta, Shohei; Honda, Masaki*; Mizuta, Naoki; Goto, Minoru; Tachibana, Yukio; Okamoto, Koji*

Journal of Nuclear Materials, 522, p.32 - 40, 2019/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.05.012

In order to realize Pu-burner high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR), coated fuel particles (CFPs) with PuO-yittria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) fuel kernel coated with ZrC is employed for high nuclear proliferation resistance and very high burn-up. Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) have carried out ZrC coatings of particles which simulated PuO-YSZ kernels (CeO-YSZ particles or commercially available YSZ particles). Ce was used as simulating element of Pu. In this manuscript, microstructures of ZrC coated CeO-YSZ or YSZ particles were reported.