scholarly journals Development of a new neutron absorber material for dry casks and spent fuel pool racks

2016 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 130-135
Author(s):  
Takutoshi Kondo ◽  
Xavier Clausse ◽  
Toshiaki Yamazaki ◽  
Hideki Hommo ◽  
Akiei Tanaka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Neutron Absorber ◽  
Absorber Material ◽  
Spent Fuel Pool

scholarly journals CRITICALITY SAFETY ANALYSIS OF GBC-32 SPENT FUEL CASK WITH IMPROVED NEUTRON ABSORBER CONCEPT

2021 ◽  
Vol 247 ◽  
pp. 17003
Author(s):  
Martin Lovecký ◽  
Jiří Závorka ◽  
Jana Jiřičková ◽  
Radek Škoda
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Assembly ◽  
Boron Content ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Safety Analysis ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Neutron Absorber ◽  
Safety Margins ◽  
Absorber Material ◽  
Inner Diameter ◽  
Criticality Safety

Higher enrichment of nuclear fuel along the manufacturing limit of boron content in steel and aluminum alloys represents a significant challenge in designing spent fuel transport and storage facilities. One possible solution for spent fuel pools and casks is the burnup credit method that allows for decreasing very high safety margins associated with fresh fuel assumption in spent fuel facilities. An alternative solution based on placing neutron absorber material directly into the fuel assembly is proposed here. A neutron absorber permanently fixed in guide tubes decreases system reactivity more efficiently than absorber sheets between the assemblies. The efficiency of the newly proposed concept is demonstrated on the criticality safety analysis of the GBC-32 spent fuel cask. Absorber rods from 8 different elements are placed within Westinghouse OFA 17x17 guide tubes. Currently used boron is a good option because of high absorption cross section, low atomic mass and chemical compatibility with various alloys. Alternative options (e.g., Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Hf, Re, Ir) are based on very good absorbers that do not require alloy compatibility since the absorbers can be placed inside zirconium or steel cladding. Because of high efficiency of the newly proposed absorber concept, boron content in BORAL sheets can be decreased to more competitive economics. Moreover, fuel assembly pitch is investigated in order to change cask wall inner diameter that will result in lower material consumption for the cask wall with the same shielding thickness.

Qualification Requirements Design for Neutron Absorber Plate for Spent Fuel Racks in Domestic Nuclear Power Plants

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
You Shi ◽  
Dong Ning ◽  
Yi-zhong Yang
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Power Plants ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Absorber Plate ◽  
Neutron Absorber ◽  
Absorber Material ◽  
Spent Fuel Storage ◽  
Fuel Storage ◽  
Storage Racks

Boron Carbide (B4C) particle-reinforced aluminum matrix composite is the key material for use as neutron absorber plate in spent fuel storage racks as well as new fuel and in-containment fuel storage racks for GENIII advanced passive nuclear power plants in China. This material has once depended upon importing with high expense and restricted delivery schedule by foreign supplier. Therefore it has meaningful practical significance to realize the localized manufacturing for this material in China. More importantly, since it’s the first time for this material to be used in domestic plant, particular care should be taken to assure the formal supplied neutron absorber material products exhibit high stabilized and reliable service in domestic nuclear engineering. This paper initiates and proposes a principle design framework from technical view in qualification requirements for this neutron absorber material so as to guide the practical engineering application. Aiming at neutron absorber materials supplied under practical manufacturing condition in engineering delivery, the qualification requirements define B4C content, matrix chemistry, 10B isotope, bulk density, 10B areal density, mechanical property and microstructure as key criteria for material performance. The uniformity assessment as to different locations of this material is also required from at least three lots of material. Only qualified material meeting all of the qualification requirements should proceed to be verified by lifetime testing such as irradiation, corrosion and thermal aging testing. Systematic and comprehensive performance assessments and verification for process stabilization could be achieved through the above qualification. The long-term service for this neutron absorber material in reliable and safe way could be convincingly expected in spent fuel storage application in China.

The holistic risk analysis of spent fuel pool considering the fuel route risk

2021 ◽  
pp. 1748006X2199851
Author(s):  
Zhixin Xu ◽  
Ming Wang ◽  
Binyan Song ◽  
WenYu Hou ◽  
Chao Wang
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Comprehensive Evaluation ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Nuclear Disaster ◽  
Evaluation Approach ◽  
Fuel Assemblies ◽  
Spent Fuel Pool ◽  
Large Water ◽  
Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

The Fukushima nuclear disaster has raised the importance on the reliability and risk research of the spent fuel pool (SFP), including the risk of internal events, fire, external hazards and so on. From a safety point of view, the low decay heat of the spent fuel assemblies and large water inventory in the SFP has made the accident progress goes very slow, but a large number of fuel assemblies are stored inside the spent fuel pool and without containment above the SFP building, it still has an unignored risk to the safety of the nuclear power plant. In this paper, a standardized approach for performing a holistic and comprehensive evaluation approach of the SFP risk based on the probabilistic safety analysis (PSA) method has been developed, including the Level 1 SFP PSA and Level 2 SFP PSA and external hazard PSA. The research scope of SFP PSA covers internal events, internal flooding, internal fires, external hazards and new risk source-fuel route risk is also included. The research will provide the risk insight of Spent Fuel Pool operation, and can help to make recommendation for the prevention and mitigation of SFP accidents which will be applicable for the SFP configuration risk management.

Influence of Gap Size on Added Mass for Spent Fuel Storage Rack

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daogang Lu ◽  
Yu Liu ◽  
Shu Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Vibration Frequency ◽  
Input Parameter ◽  
Added Mass ◽  
Water Tank ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Free Standing ◽  
Fluid Force ◽  
Spent Fuel Storage ◽  
Fuel Storage ◽  
Spent Fuel Pool

Free standing spent fuel storage racks are submerged in water contained with spent fuel pool. During a postulated earthquake, the water surrounding the racks is accelerated and the so-called fluid-structure interaction (FSI) is significantly induced between water, racks and the pool walls[1]. The added mass is an important input parameter for the dynamic structural analysis of the spent fuel storage rack under earthquake[2]. The spent fuel storage rack is different even for the same vendors. Some rack are designed as the honeycomb construction, others are designed as the end-tube-connection construction. Therefore, the added mass for those racks have to be measured for the new rack’s design. More importantly, the added mass is influenced by the layout of the rack in the spent fuel pool. In this paper, an experiment is carried out to measure the added mass by free vibration test. The measured fluid force of the rack is analyzed by Fourier analysis to derive its vibration frequency. The added mass is then evaluated by the vibration frequency in the air and water. Moreover, a two dimensional CFD model of the spent fuel rack immersed in the water tank is built. The fluid force is obtained by a transient analysis with the help of dynamics mesh method.

scholarly journals Microbial enrichment and gene functional categories revealed on the walls of a spent fuel pool of a nuclear power plant

PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. e0205228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosane Silva ◽  
Darcy Muniz de Almeida ◽  
Bianca Catarina Azeredo Cabral ◽  
Victor Hugo Giordano Dias ◽  
Isadora Cristina de Toledo e Mello ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Functional Categories ◽  
Spent Fuel Pool

scholarly journals Temperature conditions in the RBMK spent fuel pool in the event of disturbances in its cooling mode

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-13
Author(s):  
David A. Hakobyan ◽  
Victor I. Slobodchuk
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Power Plants ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Cooling Mode ◽  
Temperature Conditions ◽  
Fuel Assemblies ◽  
Spent Fuel Pool

The problems of reprocessing and long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) at nuclear power plants with RBMK reactors have not been fully resolved so far. For this reason, nuclear power plants are forced to search for new options for the disposal of spent fuel, which can provide at least temporary SNF storage. One of the possible solutions to this problem is to switch to compacted SNF storage in reactor spent fuel pools (SFPs). As the number of spent fuel assemblies (SFAs) in SFPs increases, a greater amount of heat is released. In addition, no less important is the fact that a place for emergency FA discharging should be provided in SFPs. The paper presents the results of a numerical simulation of the temperature conditions in SFPs both for compacted SNF storage and for emergency FA discharging. Several types of disturbances in normal SFP cooling mode are considered, including partial loss of cooling water and exposure of SFAs. The simulation was performed using the ANSYS CFX software tool. Estimates were made of the time for heating water to the boiling point, as well as the time for heating the cladding of the fuel elements to a temperature of 650 °С. The most critical conditions are observed in the emergency FA discharging compartment. The results obtained make it possible to estimate the time that the personnel have to restore normal cooling mode of the spent fuel pool until the maximum temperature for water and spent fuel assemblies is reached.

scholarly journals Criticality safety analysis of spent fuel pool for a PWR using UO2, MOX, (Th-U)O2 and (TRU-Th)O2 fuels

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3A) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claubia Pereira ◽  
Jéssica P. Achilles ◽  
Fabiano Cardoso ◽  
Victor F. Castro ◽  
Maria Auxiliadora F. Veloso
Keyword(s):  
Normal Operation ◽  
Pressurized Water Reactor ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Pressurized Water ◽  
Operation Conditions ◽  
Transport Code ◽  
Uranium Fuel ◽  
Fuel Assemblies ◽  
Spent Fuel Pool ◽  
Criticality Safety

A spent fuel pool of a typical Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) was evaluated for criticality studies when it uses reprocessed fuels. PWR nuclear fuel assemblies with four types of fuels were considered: standard PWR fuel, MOX fuel, thorium-uranium fuel and reprocessed transuranic fuel spiked with thorium. The MOX and UO2 benchmark model was evaluated using SCALE 6.0 code with KENO-V transport code and then, adopted as a reference for other fuels compositions. The four fuel assemblies were submitted to irradiation at normal operation conditions. The burnup calculations were obtained using the TRITON sequence in the SCALE 6.0 code package. The fuel assemblies modeled use a benchmark 17x17 PWR fuel assembly dimensions. After irradiation, the fuels were inserted in the pool. The criticality safety limits were performed using the KENO-V transport code in the CSAS5 sequence. It was shown that mixing a quarter of reprocessed fuel withUO2 fuel in the pool, it would not need to be resized 

Application of TRACE and FRAPTRAN in the Spent Fuel Pool of Chinshan Nuclear Power Plant

2013 ◽  
Vol 479-480 ◽  
pp. 543-547
Author(s):  
Jong Rong Wang ◽  
Hao Tzu Lin ◽  
Wan Yun Li ◽  
Shao Wen Chen ◽  
Chun Kuan Shih
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power Plant ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Safety Issue ◽  
Water Injection ◽  
Safety Analysis ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Spent Fuel Pool ◽  
Study Case

In the nuclear power plant (NPP) safety, the safety analysis of the NPP is very important work. In Fukushima NPP event, due to the earthquake and tsunami, the cooling system of the spent fuel pool failed and the safety issue of the spent fuel pool generated. In this study, the safety analysis of the Chinshan NPP spent fuel pool was performed by using TRACE and FRAPTRAN, which also assumed the cooling system of the spent fuel pool failed. There are two cases considered in this study. Case 1 is the no fire water injection in the spent fuel pool. Case 2 is the fire water injection while the water level of the spent fuel pool uncover the length of fuel rods over 1/3 full length. The analysis results of the case 1 show that the failure of cladding occurs in about 3.6 day. However, the results of case 2 indicate that the integrity of cladding is kept after the fire water injection.

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