Annual report, FY 1979 Spent fuel and fuel pool component integrity.

Technical Report · Thu May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1980

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5475124· OSTI ID:5475124

Johnson, Jr, A B; Bailey, W J; Schreiber, R E; Kustas, F M

International meetings under the BEFAST program and under INFCE Working Group No. 6 during 1978 and 1979 continue to indicate that no cases of fuel cladding degradation have developed on pool-stored fuel from water reactors. A section from a spent fuel rack stand, exposed for 1.5 y in the Yankee Rowe (PWR) pool had 0.001- to 0.003-in.-deep (25- to 75-..mu..m) intergranular corrosion in weld heat-affected zones but no evidence of stress corrosion cracking. A section of a 304 stainless steel spent fuel storage rack exposed 6.67 y in the Point Beach reactor (PWR) spent fuel pool showed no significant corrosion. A section of 304 stainless steel 8-in.-dia pipe from the Three Mile Island No. 1 (PWR) spent fuel pool heat exchanger plumbing developed a through-wall crack. The crack was intergranular, initiating from the inside surface in a weld heat-affected zone. The zone where the crack occurred was severely sensitized during field welding. The Kraftwerk Union (Erlangen, GFR) disassembled a stainless-steel fuel-handling machine that operated for 12 y in a PWR (boric acid) spent fuel pool. There was no evidence of deterioration, and the fuel-handling machine was reassembled for further use. A spent fuel pool at a Swedish PWR was decontaminated. The procedure is outlined in this report.

• Research Organization: Battelle Pacific Northwest Labs., Richland, WA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: EY-76-C-06-1830
• OSTI ID: 5475124
• Report Number(s): PNL-3171
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

050900* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Transport
Handling
& Storage
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
ALLOYS
BORIC ACID
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHROMIUM ALLOYS
CORROSION
CORROSION RESISTANT ALLOYS
FUEL CYCLE
FUEL POOLS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INORGANIC ACIDS
INSPECTION
IRON ALLOYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
REACTORS
SPENT FUEL STORAGE
STAINLESS STEELS
STEELS
WATER COOLED REACTORS