Experiment HFR-B1: A preliminary analysis of the water-vapor injection experiments in capsule 3
A preliminary analysis of the response of uranium oxycarbide (UCO) fuel to water vapor addition in capsule 3 of experiment HFR-B1 (HFR-B1/3) has been conducted. The analysis provides an early indication of the behavior of fission gas release under a wider range of water-vapor pressures and of temperatures than heretofore studied. A preliminary analysis of selected aspects of the water-vapor injection tests in capsule 3 of experiment HFR-B1 is presented. The release of fission gas stored in bubbles and the diffusive release of fission-gas atoms are distinguished. The dependence of the release of stored fission gas ({sup 85m}Kr) on water-vapor pressure, P(H{sub 2}O), and temperature were established taking into account the contributing mechanisms of gaseous release, the effect of graphite hydrolysis, and the requirement of consistency with experiment HRB-17 in which similar water-vapor injection tests were conducted. The dependence on P(H{sub 2}O) becomes weaker as temperatures increase above 770{degree}C; the activation energy for release of stored-fission gas is 393 kJ/mol. Isorelease curves for the pressure-temperature plane were deduced from a derived functional relation. The stored-fission gas releases as a function of P(H{sub 2}O) at a common temperature for experiments HFR-B1 and HRB-17 differ by a factor of 4; this discrepancy could be attributed to the differences in fission-rate density and neutron flux between the two experiments. Diffusive release of fission gas occurred during and after the release of stored gas. The ratio of diffusive release during water-vapor injection to that prior to injection varied in contrast to the results from HRB-17. The variation was attributed to the practice of injecting water vapor into HFR-B1 before sintering of the fuel, hydrolyzed in the previous test, was completed. The derived activation energy for diffusive release is 23.6 kJ/mol.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 10183286
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9306234-2; ON: DE93018723; TRN: 93:021631
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) coordinated research program (CRP2),Vienna (Austria),23-25 Jun 1993; Other Information: PBD: [1993]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
AGR-5/6/7 Final Release-to-Birth Ratio Data Analysis
Analysis of capsule HFR-B1 graphite-corrosion data
Related Subjects
HFR REACTOR
FUEL-COOLANT INTERACTIONS
KRYPTON 85
FISSION PRODUCT RELEASE
REACTOR SAFETY EXPERIMENTS
EXPERIMENTAL CHANNELS
GRAPHITE
HYDROLYSIS
WATER VAPOR
URANIUM COMPOUNDS
OXYCARBIDES
FLUID INJECTION
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
PRESSURE DEPENDENCE
220900
220600
REACTOR SAFETY
RESEARCH
TEST
TRAINING
PRODUCTION
IRRADIATION
MATERIALS TESTING REACTORS