Steady-state irradiation testing of U-Pu-Zr fuel to >18% burnup

Conference · Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1990

OSTI ID:7177201

Pahl, R G; Wisner, R S ^[1]; Billone, M C; Hofman, G L ^[2]

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1. Argonne National Lab., Idaho Falls, ID (USA)
2. Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)

Tests of austenitic stainless steel clad U-xP-10Zr fuel (x=o, 8, 19 wt. %) to peak burnups as high as 18.4 at. % have been completed in the EBR-II. Fuel swelling and fractional fission gas release are slowly increasing functions of burnup beyond 2 at. % burnup. Increasing plutonium content in the fuel reduces swelling and decreases the amount of fission gas which diffuses from fuel to plenum. LIFE-METAL code modelling of cladding strains is consistent with creep by fission gas loading and irradiation-induced swelling mechanisms. Fuel/cladding chemical interaction involves the ingress of rare-earth fission products. Constituent redistribution in the fuel had not limited steady-state performance. Cladding breach behavior at closure welds, in the gas plenum, and in the fuel column region have been benign events. 3 refs., 5 figs.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/NE
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 7177201
• Report Number(s): CONF-900804-25; ON: DE90011173; TRN: 90-020003
• Resource Relation: Conference: International topical meeting on fast reactor safety, Snowbird, UT (USA), 12-16 Aug 1990
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
EBR-2 REACTOR
FUEL ELEMENTS
FUEL-CLADDING INTERACTIONS
BURNUP
CREEP
FISSION PRODUCT RELEASE
FUEL CANS
IRRADIATION
L CODES
NUCLEAR FUELS
PLUTONIUM
QUANTITY RATIO
STAINLESS STEELS
STEADY-STATE CONDITIONS
SWELLING
URANIUM
ZIRCONIUM
ACTINIDES
ALLOYS
BREEDER REACTORS
COMPUTER CODES
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
EPITHERMAL REACTORS
EXPERIMENTAL REACTORS
FAST REACTORS
FBR TYPE REACTORS
FUELS
HIGH ALLOY STEELS
IRON ALLOYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
LIQUID METAL COOLED REACTORS
LMFBR TYPE REACTORS
MATERIALS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
METALS
POWER REACTORS
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTOR MATERIALS
REACTORS
RESEARCH AND TEST REACTORS
SODIUM COOLED REACTORS
STEELS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
210500* - Power Reactors
Breeding
220600 - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Research
Test & Experimental Reactors