Casting evaluation of U-Zr alloy system fuel slug for SFR prepared by injection casting method
- Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daedeok-daro 989-111, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)
Metal fuel slugs of U-Pu-Zr alloys for Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) have conventionally been fabricated by a vacuum injection casting method. Recently, management of minor actinides (MA) became an important issue because direct disposal of the long-lived MA can be a long-term burden for a tentative repository up to several hundreds of thousand years. In order to recycle transuranic elements (TRU) retained in spent nuclear fuel, remote fabrication capability in a shielded hot cell should be prepared. Moreover, generation of long-lived radioactive wastes and loss of volatile species should be minimized during the recycled fuel fabrication step. In order to prevent the evaporation of volatile elements such as Am, alternative fabrication methods of metal fuel slugs have been studied applying gravity casting, and improved injection casting in KAERI, including melting under inert atmosphere. And then, metal fuel slugs were examined with casting soundness, density, chemical analysis, particle size distribution and microstructural characteristics. Based on these results there is a high level of confidence that Am losses will also be effectively controlled by application of a modest amount of overpressure. A surrogate fuel slug was generally soundly cast by improved injection casting method, melted fuel material under inert atmosphere.
- Research Organization:
- American Nuclear Society, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 22257872
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: GLOBAL 2013: International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Conference - Nuclear Energy at a Crossroads, Salt Lake City, UT (United States), 29 Sep - 3 Oct 2013; Other Information: Country of input: France; 11 refs.; Related Information: In: Proceedings of GLOBAL 2013: International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Conference - Nuclear Energy at a Crossroads| 1633 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
ACTINIDES
ALLOY SYSTEMS
CASTING
CASTINGS
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
EVALUATION
FUEL RODS
HOT CELLS
INERT ATMOSPHERE
INJECTION
MICROSTRUCTURE
PARTICLE SIZE
PLUTONIUM ALLOYS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SODIUM COOLED REACTORS
SOUND WAVES
SPENT FUELS
URANIUM ALLOYS
VOLATILITY
ZIRCONIUM ALLOYS