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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Results of the first nuclear blowdown tests on single fuel rods (LOC-11 series in the PBF)

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6702938
The first PBF-LOCA program nuclear blowdown experiment, LOC-11 consisted of three sequential tests conducted with four separately shrouded PWR 15 x 15 design fuel rods. The first test, LOC-11A, was a facility checkout test during which no programmatic information was obtained. The peak test rod powers prior to blowdown were 46 kW/m during the LOC-11B test and 67 kW/m during the LOC-11C test. Maximum measured peak cladding surface temperatures were 880 K for LOC-11B and 1030 K for LOC-11C. Posttest calculations of coolant behavior generally agreed well with the measured coolant behavior, but the calculated cladding surface temperatures were about 100 K greater than measured. Two of the fuel rods were essentially unpressurized and the other two fuel rods were prepressurized at ambient temperature to about 2.42 and 4.81 MPa. The cladding of the unpressurized rods collapsed slightly over a centrally located axial span of about 0.4 m. The cladding of the pressurized rods ballooned slightly, over a distance of about 0.18 m, at an axial location slightly above the peak power location. The maximum swelling of the two pressurized rods was 0.15 and 0.28 mm, respectively.
Research Organization:
Idaho National Engineering Lab., Idaho Falls (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
EY-76-C-07-1570
OSTI ID:
6702938
Report Number(s):
TID-28575
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English