IN-CELL ALPHA ENCLOSURE FOR DISASSEMBLY AND EXAMINATION OF PLUTONIUM- ENRICHED FUEL-ELEMENT CAPSULES

Journal Article · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1963 · Proc. Conf. Hot Lab. Equip.

OSTI ID:4162125

Corrigan, J E; Stearns, R F

An alpha enclosure for the disassembly and examination of plutonium- enriched fuel capsules is in operation in one oL the Radioactive Materials Laboratory megacurie cells of the Vallecitos Atomic Laboratory. To safely handle the irradiated PuO/sub 2/-UO/sub 2/fuels with less than 50,000 MWD/T burnup, an enclosure is used for plutonium containment with the cell walls providing the required shielding. The enclosure provides facilities for capsule opening, Na and/or NaK reaction within the capsule body, fuel pin photography, diameter and profile measurements, gamma scanning, vacuum potting, and fuel sectioning. Metallographic equipment for sample mounting, grinding, polishing, and examination at 50 and 100x magnifications is also available. Operating experience showed that the enclosure allows flexible operations, and is effective in containment of contaminants. No increase in contamination was detected within the cell since operations were started. (auth)

• Research Organization: General Electric Co., Pleasanton, Calif.
• NSA Number: NSA-18-000365
• OSTI ID: 4162125
• Journal Information: Proc. Conf. Hot Lab. Equip., Journal Name: Proc. Conf. Hot Lab. Equip. Vol. Vol: 11th
• Country of Publication: Country unknown/Code not available
• Language: English

Related Subjects

BURNUP
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHEMISTRY
CLEANING
CONFIGURATION
FUEL CANS
FUELS
GAMMA DETECTION
LABORATORY EQUIPMENT
LIQUID METALS
METALLOGRAPHY
PHOTOGRAPHY
PLUTONIUM OXIDES
POTASSIUM ALLOYS
SAMPLING
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SODIUM
SODIUM ALLOYS
URANIUM DIOXIDE
VACUUM