Investigation of stainless steel clad fuel rod failures and fuel performance in the Connecticut Yankee Reactor. Final report
Significant levels of fuel rod failures were observed in the batch 8 fuel assemblies of the Connecticut Yankee reactor. Failure of 304 stainless steel cladding in a PWR environment was not expected. Therefore a detailed poolside and hot cell examination program was conducted to determine the cause of failure and identify differences between batch 8 fuel and previous batches which had operated without failures. Hot cell work conducted consisted of detailed nondestructive and destructive examination of fuel rods from batches 7 and 8. The results indicate that the batch 8 failure mechanism was stress corrosion cracking initiating on the clad outer surface. The sources of cladding stresses are believed to be (a) fuel pellet chips wedged in the cladding gap, (b) swelling of highly nondensifying batch 8 fuel and (c) potentially harmful effects of a power change event that occurred near the end of the second cycle of irradiation for batch 8.
- Research Organization:
- Battelle Columbus Labs., OH (USA)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 5160258
- Report Number(s):
- EPRI-NP-2119; ON: DE82901319
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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210200* -- Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Light-Water Moderated
Nonboiling Water Cooled
ACCIDENTS
ALLOYS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHROMIUM ALLOYS
CHROMIUM STEELS
CHROMIUM-NICKEL STEELS
CONNECTICUT YANKEE REACTOR
CORROSION
CORROSION RESISTANT ALLOYS
DESTRUCTIVE TESTING
ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS
FUEL ASSEMBLIES
FUEL CANS
FUEL ELEMENT FAILURE
FUEL ELEMENTS
FUEL RODS
HEAT RESISTANT MATERIALS
HEAT RESISTING ALLOYS
IRON ALLOYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
MATERIALS
MATERIALS TESTING
NICKEL ALLOYS
NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING
POWER REACTORS
PWR TYPE REACTORS
REACTOR ACCIDENTS
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTORS
STAINLESS STEEL-304
STAINLESS STEELS
STEELS
STRESS CORROSION
TESTING
THERMAL REACTORS
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS