FISSION PRODUCT RELEASE FROM HIGH AND LOW-ENRICHED URANIUM FUELS OF THE IVG.1M RESEARCH REACTOR
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31489/2023No4/54-60Keywords:
coolant, fuel element, fuel element cladding, fission products, relative release of fission products, gamma-spectrometryAbstract
The research involved conducting resource tests on two experimental water-cooled technological channels (WCTCs) utilizing low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel within the IVG1.M research reactor. This testing was a crucial step in the reactor's conversion from highly enriched uranium (HEU) fuel to LEU. The research focused on two key parameters, namely the specific activity and the relative release of fission products (FPs) into the coolant, to evaluate the tightness of the fuel element cladding. A gamma-spectrometric sampling method was proposed to determine the relative release of FPs, which involved assessing the specific activity of the coolant, calculating the release rate (Release), the born rate (Born), and the R/B ratio of FPs. Comparative gamma-spectrometric measurements were conducted to analyze the content of FPs and activation products (AP) in the coolant of WCTCs utilizing both LEU and HEU during the tests. From the comprehensive list of detected radionuclides in the IVG.1M reactor coolant, well-identified reference radionuclides recommended for monitoring fuel element cladding tightness were carefully selected. The results of the study provided insights into the specific activity and relative release of FPs, demonstrating that quantitative values for the relative release of FPs from WCTCs using LEU and HEU fuel were comparable.
References
Krištof E., Pregl G. Gamma spectrometric assessment of nuclear fuel. Nucl. Instrum. and Methods in Phys. Res. Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equip, 1990, Vol. 297, Is.3, pp. 507 – 513. doi:10.1016/0168-9002(90)91335-9
Švadlenková M., Heraltová L., Juříček V., Košťál M., Novák E. Gamma spectrometry of short living fission products in fuel pins. Nucl. Instrum. and Methods in Phys. Res. Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equip, 2014, 739, pp. 55 – 62. doi:10.1016/j.nima.2013.12.019
Košťál M., Švadlenková M., Koleška M., Rypar V., Milčák J. Comparison of various hours living fission products for absolute power density determination in VVER-1000 mock up in LR-0 reactor. Appl Radiat and Isotopes, 2015, Vol.105, pp. 264 – 272. doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2015.08.037
Kröhnert H., Perret G., Murphy M.F., Chawla R. Gamma-ray spectrometric measurements of fission rate ratios between fresh and burnt fuel following Irradiat. in a zero-power reactor. Nucl. Instrum. and Methods in Phys. Res. Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equip., 2013, Vol. 698, pp. 72 – 80. doi:10.1016/j.nima.2012.09.008
Qin G., Wang Q., Chen X., Li F., Li W., Guo X. Development of fuel rod failure character analysis code for pressurized. Nucl. Engineering and Des., 2020. Vol. 361(15):110515. doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2020.110515
Kim K. Relation between a fuel rod failure cause and a reactor coolant radioactivity variation. Nucl. Engineering and Des., 2012, Vol. 248, pp. 156 – 168. doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2012.03.051
El-Jaby A., Lewis B.J., Thompson W.T., Iglesias F., Ip M. A general model for predicting coolant activity behavior for fuel-failure monitoring analysis. Journal of Nucl. Mater., 2010, Vol. 399, Is.1, pp 87 – 100. doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2010.01.006
Parrat D., Genin J.B., Musante Y., Petit C., Harrer A. Failed rod diagnosis and primary circuit contamination level determination thanks to the DIADEME code - fuel failures in water reactors: causes and mitigation. Proceedings of a Technical Meeting, 2002. Bratislava, Slovakia, 17–21 June, IAEA-TECDOC-1345, Part II, 265 p. https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/34/028/34028202.pdf?r=1
Likhanskiy V., Yevdokimov I., Khoruzhy O., Sorokin A., et al. Modelling of fission product release from defective fuel under WWER operation conditions and in leakage tests during refuelling. Proc. Int. Top. Mtg LWR Fuel Performance, 2004. Florida, pp. 798 – 812. https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=15039948&pff=1
Likhanskiy V., Yevdokimov I., Sorokin A.A., Khramov A.G., Kanukova V.D., Apollonova O.V., Ugryumov A.V. WWER Expert system for fuel failure analysis using data on primary coolant activity. Proceeding of the 2007 Intern. LWR Fuel Performance Meeting, 2007. San Francisco, California, 237 p. https://www.researchgate.net/ publiccation/236399850WWER_Expert_System_for_Fuel_Failure_Analysis_Using_DataonPrimary_Coolant_Activity
Bakhmetyev A.M., Samoilov O.B., Usynin G.B. Methods for assessing and ensuring the safety of Nucl. power plants. Energoatomizdat, 1988, 136 p. [in Russian]
Berlizov A.N., Malyuk I.A., Rudyk O.F., Trishin V.V., Chizh R.V. Continuous monitoring of the state of safety barriers of water-moderated reactors using high-resolution gamma spectrometry. Yaderna Fizika Ta Energetika, 2009, Vol.10, No. 4, pp. 387 – 394. http://jnpae.kinr.kiev.ua/10.4/Articles_PDF/jnpae-2009-10-0387-Berlizov.pdf [in Russian]
Kurskiy A.S., Kalygin V.V., Semidotsky I.I. Methods for monitoring the tightness of the fuel element cladding in a pressure vessel boiling water reactor VK-50. Bulletin of Ivanovo State Power Engineering University, 2014, Edit. 1, pp. 1 – 6. [in Russian] https://elibrary.ru/download/elibrary_21378648_79721658.pdf
Agulnik M.A., Bylkin B.K., Momot G.V., Morgunova V.A. Method for non-destructive testing of fuel element tightness. Atomic Energy, 2010. Vol. 109, № 4, pp. 229 – 233. https://www.j-atomicenergy.ru/index.php/ae/article/view/1520/1501. [in Russian].
Kudrin Yu.S., Ilyienko S.A., Kiseleva I.V. Investigations in the loop installation of the MIR reactor of fission product release from the fuel elements of the WWER-1000 reactor with artificially Appl. cladding defects. Proceedings of “SSC RIAR” JSC (collection of scientific articles). Dimitrovgrad, 2017. pp. 14 – 26. https://elibrary.ru/download/elibrary_30627971_15926797.pdf
Tarasov V.I. Modeling of the diffusion release of radioactive fission products from uranium dioxide fuel. Atomic Energy, 2009. Vol. 106, Edit. 6, pp. 315 – 328. https://www.j-atomicenergy.ru/index.php/ae/article/view/1681/1661
Medetbekov B.S., Popov Yu.A., Zhmuk D.V. Estimation of the yield of fission products from the fuel elements of the experimental LEU WCTC into the coolant of the IVG.1M reactor. Bulletin of the NNC RK, 2019, Is.3 (79), pp. 81 – 87. https://www.nnc.kz/media/bulletin/files/VgIusNp2RU.pdf
