Keun-Woo Chung

Development of a Water-soluble Dry Lubricant for Nuclear Fuel Rod Protection

Dept. of PWR Production, KEPCO Nuclear Fuel Company (KEPCO NF)(Received September 12, 2014; Revised October 24, 2014; Accepted October 31, 2014)Abstract − Currently, in order to resist the scratching of the fuel rod surface while fabricating the fuel assemblyof the light-water nuclear reactor, we use a solution of nitrocellulose, an explosive material, as a dry lubricantalong with its solvent. However, the demand for developing safe and harmless aqueous alternative materials forenvironment-conservation and field-worker safety has increased. In this study, we demonstrate the preparationof a novel aqueous resin composite using a formulation of aqueous polymeric resin, alcoholic solvent, and water.Subsequently, we characterize this composite on the basis of hardness, adhesive property, and water solubilityusing plates similar to the fuel rod material. The insertion test of a fuel rod coated with the YS-3 compositeshows load values of 18.8-20.5 kg/cm