Alloy design and characterization of a recrystallized FeCrAl-ODS cladding for accident-tolerant BWR fuels; An Overview of research activity in Japan

Ukai, Shigeharu; Sakamoto, Kan*; Otsuka, Satoshi; Yamashita, Shinichiro; Kimura, Akihiko*

Journal of Nuclear Materials, 583, p.154508_1 - 154508_24, 2023/09

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2023.154508

Modelling heterogeneous hydration behaviour of bentonite by a FracMan-Thames coupling method for the Bentonite Rock Interaction Experiment (BRIE) at sp HRL

Sawada, Atsushi; Sakamoto, Kazuhiko*; Watahiki, Takanori*; Imai, Hisashi*

SKB P-17-06, 154 Pages, 2023/08

structure observation of pyroelectric ceramics during power generation cycle

Kawasaki, Takuro; Fukuda, Tatsuo; Yamanaka, Satoru*; Sakamoto, Tomokazu*; Murayama, Ichiro*; Kato, Takanori*; Baba, Masaaki*; Hashimoto, Hideki*; Harjo, S.; Aizawa, Kazuya; et al.

Journal of Applied Physics, 131(13), p.134103_1 - 134103_7, 2022/04

https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0084166

Orientation dependence of yield strength in a new single crystal-like FeCrAl oxide dispersion strengthened alloy

Aghamiri, S. M. S.*; Sugawara, Naoya*; Ukai, Shigeharu; Ono, Naoko*; Sakamoto, Kan*; Yamashita, Shinichiro

Materials Characterization, 176, p.111043_1 - 111043_6, 2021/06

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchar.2021.111043

Advanced oxidation-resistant FeCrAl ODS alloys were developed via the control of composition-processing conditions for the accident tolerant fuel (ATF) cladding. For the first time, a single-crystal like recrystallized FeCrAl ODS alloy was achieved with a unique crystallographic texture of 110-plane and 211-direction and a high number density of fine nanoscale oxide particles. Evaluation of yield strengths at different temperatures showed higher values in transverse (T) direction than longitudinal (L) direction. The crystal orientation dependence of the yield strength up to 800C was attributed to lower value of Schmid factor in transverse direction. Accordingly, the critical resolved shear stress of this practical class of advanced materials was calculated in various temperatures.

Pyroelectric power generation from the waste heat of automotive exhaust gas

Kim, J.*; Yamanaka, Satoru*; Murayama, Ichiro*; Kato, Takanori*; Sakamoto, Tomokazu*; Kawasaki, Takuro; Fukuda, Tatsuo; Sekino, Toru*; Nakayama, Tadachika*; Takeda, Masatoshi*; et al.

Sustainable Energy & Fuels (Internet), 4(3), p.1143 - 1149, 2020/03

https://doi.org/10.1039/C9SE00283A

Development of a structured overset Navier-Stokes solver with a moving grid and full multigrid method

Ohashi, Kunihide*; Hino, Takanori*; Kobayashi, Hiroshi*; Onodera, Naoyuki; Sakamoto, Nobuaki*

Journal of Marine Science and Technology, 24(3), p.884 - 901, 2019/09

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00773-018-0594-7

An unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes solver with a structured overset grid method has been developed. Velocity pressure coupling is achieved using an artificial compressibility approach, spatial discretization is based on a FVM. Body motions are considered using the grid deformation technique and grid velocities in the convective term. The full multigrid (FMG) method is applied to obtain fast convergence. The cell flag on a coarse grid level is determined using the cell flag on a fine grid level. In the coarse and fine grid level calculations at the FMG stage, the data are interpolated until the finest grid level is achieved at an overset update interval. Then, the data are updated based on the overset relations at the finest grid level and then transferred to a coarser grid level. The computations for flows around a hull form, including an unsteady simulation with regular waves, are demonstrated.

Routing study of above core structure with mock-up experiment for ASTRID

Takano, Kazuya; Sakamoto, Yoshihiko; Morohoshi, Kyoichi*; Okazaki, Hitoshi*; Gima, Hiromichi*; Teramae, Takuma*; Ikarimoto, Iwao*; Botte, F.*; Dirat, J.-F.*; Dechelette, F.*

Proceedings of 2019 International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants (ICAPP 2019) (Internet), 8 Pages, 2019/05

ASTRID has the objective to integrate innovative options in order to prepare the 4th generation reactors. In ASTRID, large number of tubes are installed above each fuel subassembly to monitor the core. These instrumentations such as thermocouples (TC) and Failed Fuel Detection and Location (FFDL) systems are integrated into Above Core Structure (ACS) with various sizes tubes. In the present study, the routing study for TC tubes and FFDL tubes was performed with 3D modeling and mock-up experiment of the ACS designed for ASTRID with 1500 MW thermal power in order to clarify the integration process and secure the design hypotheses. Although some problems on fabricability were found in the mock-up experiment, the possible solutions were proposed. The present study gives manufacturing feedback to design team and will contribute to increase the knowledge for ACS design and fabricability.

Simulation of fluidity, dispersion and mass transfer in an annular centrifugal contactor

Sano, Yuichi; Sakamoto, Atsushi; Takeuchi, Masayuki; Misumi, Ryuta*; Kunii, Kanako*; Todoroki, Kei*; Nishi, Kazuhiko*; Kaminoyama, Meguru*

Kagaku Kogaku Rombunshu, 44(6), p.335 - 340, 2018/11

https://doi.org/10.1252/kakoronbunshu.44.335

Concerning an annular centrifugal contactor which has high throughput and separation performance, the effect of operational condition on fluidic and dispersion behavior, which are important to improve the contactor performance, was investigated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis based on the turbulence model, and the calculated results were validated by experimental data. The liquid phase in the annular zone was gradually divided into two regions vertically with increasing the rotor speed and decreasing the flowrate, and the liquid flow moved toward the center of the housing bottom was generated in the lower annular zone under any operational condition. The droplet size of the dispersed phase in the annular zone decreased with increasing the rotor speed and decreasing the flowrate. These calculation results showed a good agreement with experimental data. The CFD analysis considering mass transfer between aqueous and organic phases was also attempted, and it was confirmed that the change of extraction performance with the rotor speed showed the same tendency as the experimental result.

High temperature oxidation test of simulated BWR fuel bundle in steam-starved conditions

Yamazaki, Saishun; Pshenichnikov, A.; Pham, V. H.; Nagae, Yuji; Kurata, Masaki; Tokushima, Kazuyuki*; Aomi, Masaki*; Sakamoto, Kan*

Proceedings of Annual Topical Meeting on Reactor Fuel Performance (TopFuel 2018) (Internet), 8 Pages, 2018/10

It is predictively evaluated that degradation of fuel assembly proceeded in a certain steam-starved condition at the early stage of a SA at 1F unit 2 (BWR). As for PWR fuel assembly, effective steam flow rate was properly indicated by normalizing to a unit of g-HO/sec/rod which is used as an important parameter for evaluating fuel degradation progression. Due to the inhomogeneous configuration of BWR fuel assembly, the difference of Zry oxidation and hydrogen uptake between the inside and outside of the channel box cannot be properly evaluated by this normalization. Instead of g-HO/sec/rod, proper evaluation unit for BWR configuration is necessary. To accumulate Zry oxidation and hydrogen uptake data for steam-starved conditions, high temperature oxidation tests were performed using a simulated BWR fuel bundle sample. The use of equivalent diameter of the cross section of BWR fuel assembly was proposed for normalization of effective steam flow rate.

Flow behavior in annular centrifugal extractors with different vessel sizes

Misumi, Ryuta*; Todoroki, Kei*; Kunii, Kanako*; Nishi, Kazuhiko*; Kaminoyama, Meguru*; Sano, Yuichi; Sakamoto, Atsushi; Takeuchi, Masayuki

Kagaku Kogaku Rombunshu, 44(5), p.285 - 291, 2018/09

https://doi.org/10.1252/kakoronbunshu.44.285

Annular centrifugal extractors have been anticipated for use as extractors in spent nuclear fuel recycling. The extraction rate and the liquid-liquid dispersion are related to the flow pattern in the vessel. However, no study has clarified flow patterns in vessels of various scales. For this study, flow pattern characteristics are quantified for extractors of two scales. An extractor has a mixing zone around the vessel bottom and a separation zone in the cylindrical rotor. For this experiment, distilled water was fed into the vessel. Flow behavior in the mixing zone was observed from a side view using a digital video camera at various rotor speeds and supply flow rates for extractors of two scales. In some cases, the liquid horizontal velocity vectors in the mixing zone were measured using particle image velocimetry. Results demonstrate that flow behaviors in the mixing zone in both scales of extractors are classifiable as three types, changing with operational conditions: Type A, Type B, and a Transition regime. For the Type A state, the mixing zone is fully filled with liquid from the vessel bottom up to the lower edge of the rotor. In the Type B state, the zone with existing liquid is vertically divisible into two regions. Lower rotor speeds and higher flow rates tend to produce Type A state flow behavior. The boundary operational condition between Type A and the Transition regime are correlated with the normalized supply flow rate and pumping capacity of the rotor, which is evaluated from liquid surface level in a rotor formed by centrifugal force. Furthermore, the fluid velocity in the mixing zone is roughly proportional to the rotor surface circumferential speed irrespective of the vessel scale.