Boiling Water Reactor Fuel Behavior Under Reactivity-Initiated-Accident Conditions at Burnup of 41 to 45 GWd/tonne U

Journal Article · Tue Feb 15 04:00:00 EST 2000 · Nuclear Technology

OSTI ID:20822128

Nakamura, Takehiko ^[1]; Yoshinaga, Makio ^[1]; Takahashi, Masato ^[2]; Okonogi, Kazunari ^[2]; Ishijima, Kiyomi ^[1]

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1. Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (Japan)
2. Toshiba Corporation (Japan)

Boiling water reactor (BWR) fuel at burnup of 41 to 45 GWd/tonne U was pulse irradiated in the Nuclear Safety Research Reactor (NSRR) to investigate fuel behavior under cold startup reactivity-initiated-accident conditions. Current Japanese BWR fuel, 8 x 8BJ type (Step I), from Fukushima-Daiichi Unit 3 was refabricated into short segments, and the test rods were promptly subjected to thermal energy from 293 to 607 J/g (70 to 145 cal/g) within {approx}20 ms. The fuel cladding was ductile enough to survive the prompt deformation due to pellet cladding mechanical interaction, while the plastic hoop strain reached 1.5% at the peak location. Transient fission gas release by the pulse irradiation varied from 3.1 to 8.2%, depending on the peak fuel enthalpy and the steady-state operation conditions.

• OSTI ID: 20822128
• Journal Information: Nuclear Technology, Journal Name: Nuclear Technology Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 129; ISSN 0029-5450; ISSN NUTYBB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
BURNUP
BWR TYPE REACTORS
DEFORMATION
ENTHALPY
FISSION PRODUCT RELEASE
FUELS
PULSED IRRADIATION
RADIATION PROTECTION
REACTIVITY
REACTOR ACCIDENTS
RESEARCH REACTORS
STEADY-STATE CONDITIONS