Performance of Waterlogged LWR fuel during RIA

Conference · Fri Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2016

OSTI ID:22750139

Wachs, D. M. ^[1]

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1. Nuclear Fuels and Materials Division, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID 83415-6188 (United States)

Fuel pins with small defects could allow for the gradual ingress of water into the cladding during normal operation. If these 'waterlogged' fuel pins are subjected to a rapid power change, the internal pressurization could greatly exceed that of a normal fuel pin due to rapid conversion of the water to steam. This could induce either a premature or a more energetic failure during a design basis RIA than in non-defected fuel pins. Experimental studies on this type of fuel are very limited and do not appear to have been fully reported in the open literature. Results from a variety of tests conducted at the Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT), Special Power Excursion Reactor Test (SPERT) facility, Nuclear Safety Research Reactor (NSRR), and Power Burst Facility (PBF) are reviewed in this paper. These tests were intended to evaluate both the physical consequences of failure and the threshold and causes for waterlogged fuel failure during RIA. The available data suggests that although waterlogged fuel pins may burst at a lower energy deposition threshold, they do not pose a significant new hazard during design basis accidents. However, data is limited to tests conducted on fresh fuel samples only.

• Research Organization: American Nuclear Society - ANS, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
• OSTI ID: 22750139
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
CLADDING
DESIGN-BASIS ACCIDENTS
FUEL PINS
RADIATION PROTECTION
RESEARCH REACTORS
STEADY-STATE CONDITIONS
TREAT REACTOR