End-of-life nondestructive examination of Light Water Breeder Reactor fuel rods (LWBR Development Program)

Technical Report · Thu Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1987

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5561200· OSTI ID:5561200

Gorscak, D. A.; Campbell, W. R.; Clayton, J. C.

In-bundle and out-of-bundle (single rod) nondestructive examinations of Light Water Breeder Reactor fuel rods were performed. In-bundle examinations included visual examination and measurement of rod bow, rod-to-rod gaps, and rod removal forces. Out-of-bundle examinations included rod visuals and measurement of fuel rod length, diameter and ovality, cladding oxide and crud thickness, support grid induced cladding wear mark depth and volume, and fuel rod free hanging bow. The out-of-bundle examination also included ultrasonic inspection for cladding defects, neutron radiography for pellet integrity and plenum gap measurements, and gamma scans for instack axial gap screening and binary fuel stack length measurements. The measurements confirmed design predictions of fuel rod performance and provided evidence of excellent fuel rod performance for operation of Light Water Breeder Reactor to 29,047 effective full power hours (EFPH).

• Research Organization: Bettis Atomic Power Lab., West Mifflin, PA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC11-76PN00014
• OSTI ID: 5561200
• Report Number(s): WAPD-TM-1605; ON: DE88005094
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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