J.D.B. Lambert

Recent Improvements in Identifying Fission Product Sources in the Experimental Breeder Reactor II

The detection of a xenon tag released from an element with breached cladding has proved to be the best method of identifying a source of fission product release in the Experimental Breeder Reactor II. From experience gained from December 1974 to September 1977 in identifying the sources of 25 major releases, allowance can now be made for the composition changes in xenon tags brought about by irradiation and for the presence of more than one tag in the cover gas. This experience has also shown that calculated ratios of fission gas to tag gas in subassemblies can be used in identifying a source of release. An ancillary method, which uses the measured /sup 131/Xe//sup 134/Xe ratio in the cover gas, can also determine whether or not the source is uranium. The success of these recent improvements is reflected in the short time to identify a source and in the small number of other sources, frequently none, that are suspect.

Sodium Fast Reactor Fuels and Materials: Research Needs.

An expert panel was assembled to identify gaps in fuels and materials research prior to licensing sodium cooled fast reactor (SFR) design. The expert panel considered both metal and oxide fuels, various cladding and duct materials, structural materials, fuel performance codes, fabrication capability and records, and transient behavior of fuel types. A methodology was developed to rate the relative importance of phenomena and properties both as to importance to a regulatory body and the maturity of the technology base. The technology base for fuels and cladding was divided into three regimes: information of high maturity under conservative operating conditions, information of low maturity under more aggressive operating conditions, and future design expectations where meager data exist.

Behavior of breached mixed-oxide fuel pins during off-normal high-temperature irradiation

This paper reports on a test containing 19 mixed-oxide fuel pins that was operated in the Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) at peak cladding temperatures near 800{degrees} C. Two test pins that had been designed to fail at {approximately}5 at.% burnup and two low-burnup environmental pins failed and then were operated in the run beyond cladding breach mode for 22 days. Very high delayed neutron signals occurred during the irradiation of the test, and it was terminated as a result of high delayed neutron signals and evidence of plutonium in the coolant. Each of the four pins exhibited multiple breaches in the upper half of the fuel column. Measurements of fuel trapped on the filter section of a deposition sampler that was located above the test indicated that {approximately}2.7 g of fuel was lost during the irradiation. Postirradiation examination of the pins indicates that most of the fuel was lost from a single pin. The fuel loss resulted in an increase in the background delayed neutron signal but had no other deleterious long-term effect on the operation of the EBR-II.

Release Characterization of Delayed Neutron Precursors from Breached FBR Fuel Element

The release behavior of delayed neutron (DN) precursors from the breached fuel was analyzed, based on the diffusional release model. In this analysis, spherical co-ordinate simple approach as well as two-dimensional finite element method were used for the predomiant DN precursor 137I. It was shown that the fuel sodium reaction product (FSRP) layer at the pellet outer surface provided a predominant role for the accelerated release of DN precursors. The macroscopic diffusion coefficient for DN precursors in the FSRP layer was estimated to be 10−9 to 10−10 m2/s, which is greater than that in unreacted fuel by more than about 106. It was demonstrated that the DN signal response correlated to the growth of the FSRP layer, and did not depend on temperature change of interior fuel itself.

Sodium fast reactor safety and licensing research plan. Volume II.

Expert panels comprised of subject matter experts identified at the U.S. National Laboratories (SNL, ANL, INL, ORNL, LBL, and BNL), universities (University of Wisconsin and Ohio State University), international agencies (IRSN, CEA, JAEA, KAERI, and JRC-IE) and private consultation companies (Radiation Effects Consulting) were assembled to perform a gap analysis for sodium fast reactor licensing. Expert-opinion elicitation was performed to qualitatively assess the current state of sodium fast reactor technologies. Five independent gap analyses were performed resulting in the following topical reports: (1) Accident Initiators and Sequences (i.e., Initiators/Sequences Technology Gap Analysis), (2) Sodium Technology Phenomena (i.e., Advanced Burner Reactor Sodium Technology Gap Analysis), (3) Fuels and Materials (i.e., Sodium Fast Reactor Fuels and Materials: Research Needs), (4) Source Term Characterization (i.e., Advanced Sodium Fast Reactor Accident Source Terms: Research Needs), and (5) Computer Codes and Models (i.e., Sodium Fast Reactor Gaps Analysis of Computer Codes and Models for Accident Analysis and Reactor Safety). Volume II of the Sodium Research Plan consolidates the five gap analysis reports produced by each expert panel, wherein the importance of the identified phenomena and necessities of further experimental research and code development were addressed. The findings from these five reports comprised the basis for the analysis in Sodium Fast Reactor Research Plan Volume I.

Development of computer code SAFFRON for evaluating breached pin performance in FBR's

In order to evaluate the breached pin behavior in FBR, the breached pin performance analysis code SAFFRON was developed. Based on the results of run-beyond-cladding-breach test in EBR-II as a collaborative program between PNC and U.S. DOE, the following behaviors were taken into cosideration; fuel sodium reaction product (FSRP) formation, resultant fuel expansion, breach extension of cladding and release of delayed neutron precursors into the coolant. Using 3-dimensional elastic analyses by finite element method, breached pin diameter increase is adequately predicted with the reduced Youngs modulus of the breached fuel. The delayed neutron signal response in on-line diagnosis was evaluated in relation to the growth of FSRP and breached area enlargement.