Use of fission gas release characteristics to identify type of fuel element failure in LMRs

Conference · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1991 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States)

OSTI ID:7269161

Mikaili, R; Beck, W N; Lambert, J D.B. ^[1]

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1. Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)

The performance of liquid-metal reactor (LMR) metal fuel elements has been studied at the Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) for >25 yr and valuable fission gas (FG) data have been accumulated from the very occasional fuel element failure. In addition, the run-beyond-clad-breach (RBCB) performance of metal fuel has been specifically studied since 1986. From May 1986 to the present, archived data were obtained from the data acquisition system at EBR-II with the specific intention of studying the FG release behavior of different types of metal fuel breaches. The slope of natural logarithm of release to birth ratio versus the logarithm of decay constant of seven FG isotopes (i.e., {sup 85m}Kr, {sup 87}Kr, {sup 88}Kr, {sup 133}Xe, {sup 135}Xe, {sup 135m}Xe, {sup 138}Xe) as a function of time along with their activity were calculated and plotted and distinct characteristics were observed for different types of failure, e.g., upper plenum versus fuel column failures. A description of the analytical methods used and a comparison of the FG release behavior of these type types of breach are presented in this paper.

• OSTI ID: 7269161
• Report Number(s): CONF-911107-; CODEN: TANSA; TRN: 92-030855
• Journal Information: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States), Vol. 63; Conference: 1991 Winter meeting of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) session on fundamentals of fusion reactor thermal hydraulics, San Francisco, CA (United States), 10-15 Nov 1991; ISSN 0003-018X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
FUEL ELEMENTS
PERFORMANCE
LIQUID METAL COOLED REACTORS
FAILED ELEMENT DETECTION
ALLOY NUCLEAR FUELS
COVER GAS
DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEMS
EBR-2 REACTOR
FAILED ELEMENT MONITORS
FISSION PRODUCT RELEASE
FUEL INTEGRITY
KRYPTON 85
KRYPTON 87
KRYPTON 88
REACTOR CORES
REACTOR MONITORING SYSTEMS
XENON 133
XENON 135
XENON 138
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BREEDER REACTORS
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DETECTION
ENERGY SOURCES
EPITHERMAL REACTORS
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
EXPERIMENTAL REACTORS
FAST REACTORS
FBR TYPE REACTORS
FLUIDS
FUELS
GASES
HOURS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
INERT ATMOSPHERE
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
INTERNAL CONVERSION RADIOISOTOPES
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
KRYPTON ISOTOPES
LMFBR TYPE REACTORS
MATERIALS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MICROSEC LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
MONITORS
NUCLEAR FUELS
NUCLEI
POWER REACTORS
RADIOISOTOPES
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTOR MATERIALS
REACTORS
RESEARCH AND TEST REACTORS
SODIUM COOLED REACTORS
SOLID FUELS
XENON ISOTOPES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
220900* - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Reactor Safety
210500 - Power Reactors
Breeding