Preliminary results of post-irradiation examination of the AGR-1 TRISO fuel compacts

Conference · Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2012

OSTI ID:1064049

Demkowicz, Paul; Hunn, John; Morris, Robert; Harp, Jason; Winston, Philip; Baldwin, Charles; Montgomery, Fred; Ploger, Scott; Rooyen, Isabella van

Five irradiated fuel compacts from the AGR-1 experiment have been examined in detail in order to assess in-pile fission product release behavior. Compacts were electrolytically deconsolidated and analyzed using the leach-burn-leach technique to measure fission product inventory in the compact matrix and identify any particles with a defective SiC layer. Loose particles were then gamma counted to measure the fission product inventory. One particle with a defective SiC layer was found in the five compacts examined. The fractional release of Ag 110m from the particles was significant. The total fraction of silver released from all the particles within a compact ranged from 0-0.63 and individual particles within a single compact often exhibited a very wide range of silver release. The average fractional release of Eu-154 from all particles in a compact was 2.4×10-4—1.3×10-2, which is indicative of release through intact coatings. The fractional Cs-134 inventory in the compact matrix was <2×10-5 when all coatings remained intact, indicating good cesium retention. Approximately 1% of the palladium inventory was found in the compact matrix for two of the compacts, indicating significant release through intact coatings.

• Research Organization: Idaho National Laboratory (INL)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE - NE
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-05ID14517
• OSTI ID: 1064049
• Report Number(s): INL/CON-12-24427
• Conference Information: 6th International Topical Meeting on High Temperature Reactor Technology HTR2012,Tokyo, Japan,10/28/2012,11/01/2012
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
AGR-1
coated particle fuel
post-irradiation examination
TRISO