Sister Rod Destructive Examinations (FY23) Appendix B: Segmentation, Defueling, Metallographic Data and Total Cladding Hydrogen

Technical Report · Fri Jan 31 04:00:00 EST 2025

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/2502192· OSTI ID:2502192

Montgomery, Rose ^[1]; Sasikumar, Yadu ^[1]; Jordan, Tyson ^[1]; Dixon, Travis ^[1]; Curlin, Stephanie ^[1]; Harp, Jason ^[1]

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1. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

As a part of the DOE-NE High Burnup Spent Fuel Data Project, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is performing destructive examinations (DEs) of high burnup (HBU) (>45 GWd/MTU) spent nuclear fuel (SNF) rods from the North Anna Nuclear Power Station operated by Dominion Energy. The SNF rods, called sister rods or sibling rods are all HBU and include four different kinds of fuel rod cladding: standard Zircaloy-4 (Zirc-4), low-tin (LT) Zirc-4, ZIRLO^®, and M5^®. The DEs are being conducted to obtain a baseline of the HBU rod’s condition before dry storage and are focused on understanding overall SNF rod strength and durability. Both composite fuel and defueled cladding will be tested to derive material properties. Although the data generated can be used for multiple purposes, one primary goal for obtaining the post-irradiation examination data and associated measured mechanical properties is to support SNF dry storage licensing and relicensing activities by (1) addressing identified knowledge gaps and (2) enhancing the technical basis for post-storage transportation, handling, and subsequent disposition of the SNF. This report documents the status of the ORNL Phase 1 DE activities related to: Rough segmentation (RS), Defueling (DEF), DE.02 optical microscopy (MET), and DE.03, cladding total hydrogen measurements. It is a cumulative update to the FY22 status report.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition. Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Science and Technology
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 2502192
• Report Number(s): ORNL/SPR--2023/3190; M3SF-23OR010201026
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES