First TREAT (Transient Reactor Test Facility) transient overpower tests on U-Pu-Zr fuel: M5 and M6

Conference · Wed Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:6156243

Robinson, W R; Bauer, T H; Wright, A E; Rhodes, E A; Stanford, G S; Klickman, A E

Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT) tests M5 and M6 were the first transient overpower (TOP) tests of the margin to cladding breach and prefailure elongation of metallic U-Pu-Zr ternary fuel, the reference fuel of the Integral Fast Reactor concept. Similar tests on U-Fs fueled EBR-II driver pins were previously performed and reported (1,2). Results from these earlier tests indicated a margin to failure of about 4 times nominal power and significant axial elongation prior to failure, a feature that was very pronounced at low burnups. While these two fuel types are similar in many respects, the ternary alloy exhibits a much more complex physical structure and is typically irradiated at much higher temperatures. Thus, a prime motivation for performing M5 and M6 was to compare the safety related fuel performance characteristics of U-Fs and U-Pu-Zr. This report described conditions, results, and conclusions of testing of these fuel types.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 6156243
• Report Number(s): CONF-871101-16; ON: DE87011373
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
210500 -- Power Reactors
Breeding
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
220600 -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Research
Test & Experimental Reactors
220900* -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Reactor Safety
ACCIDENTS
ACTINIDES
AIR COOLED REACTORS
BREEDER REACTORS
BURNUP
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DATA
EBR-2 REACTOR
ELEMENTS
ELONGATION
ENERGY SOURCES
ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS
EPITHERMAL REACTORS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
EXPERIMENTAL REACTORS
FAST REACTORS
FBR TYPE REACTORS
FUEL ELEMENTS
FUEL PINS
FUEL-CLADDING INTERACTIONS
FUELS
GAS COOLED REACTORS
GRAPHITE MODERATED REACTORS
HOMOGENEOUS REACTORS
INFORMATION
LIQUID METAL COOLED REACTORS
LMFBR TYPE REACTORS
MATERIALS
METALS
NUCLEAR FUELS
NUMERICAL DATA
PLUTONIUM
POWER REACTORS
REACTOR ACCIDENTS
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTOR MATERIALS
REACTOR SAFETY
REACTORS
RESEARCH AND TEST REACTORS
SAFETY
SODIUM COOLED REACTORS
SOLID HOMOGENEOUS REACTORS
TEST REACTORS
THERMAL REACTORS
TRANSIENT OVERPOWER ACCIDENTS
TRANSIENTS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
TREAT REACTOR
URANIUM
ZIRCONIUM