Drying results of K-Basin fuel element 3128W (run 2)
- Pacific Northwest National Lab., Richland, WA (United States)
- Numatec Hanford Corp., Richland, WA (United States)
An N-Reactor outer fuel element that had been stored underwater in the Hanford 100 Area K-East Basin was subjected to a combination of low- and high-temperature vacuum drying treatments. These studies are part of a series of tests being conducted by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on the drying behavior of N-Reactor spent nuclear fuel elements removed from both the K-West and K-East Basins. The drying test series was designed to test fuel elements that ranged from intact to severely damaged. The fuel element discussed in this report was removed from an open K-East canister (3128W) during the first fuel selection campaign conducted in 1995, and has remained in wet storage in the Postirradiation Testing Laboratory (PTL, 327 Building) since that time. Although it was judged to be breached during in-basin (i.e., K-Basin) examinations, visual inspection of this fuel element in the hot cell indicated that it was likely intact. Some scratches on the coating covering the cladding were identified before the furnace test. The drying test was conducted in the Whole Element Furnace Testing System located in G-Cell within the PTL. This test system is composed of three basic systems: the in-cell furnace equipment, the system gas loop, and the analytical instrument package. Element 3128W was subjected to the drying processes based on those proposed under the Integrated Process Strategy, which included a hot drying step. Results of the Pressure Rise and Gas Evolution Tests suggest that most of the free water in the system was released during the extended CVD cycle (68 hr versus 8 hr for the first run). An additional {approximately}0.34 g of water was released during the subsequent HVD phase, characterized by multiple water release peaks, with a principle peak at {approximately}180 C. This additional water is attributed to decomposition of a uranium hydrate (UO{sub 4}{center_dot}4H{sub 2}O/UO{sub 4}{center_dot}2H{sub 2}O) coating that was observed to be covering the surface of the fuel element to a thickness of {approximately}1.6 mg/cm{sup 2}. A limited quantity of hydrogen ({approximately}9 mg) was also released during HVD, mainly at temperatures above 300 C, likely from hydride decomposition.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety, and Health, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 666158
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-11818; R&D Project: 28978; ON: DE98059364; BR: N/A; TRN: 99:000820
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Jul 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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