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Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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Spent fuel transfer project completed at INL
Work crews at Idaho National Laboratory have transferred 40 spent nuclear fuel canisters into long-term storage vaults, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has reported.
Ray C. Daniel
Nuclear Technology | Volume 14 | Number 2 | May 1972 | Pages 171-186
Technical Paper | Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT72-A31133
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Diameter and length changes have been measured for 0.25- to 0.30-in.-o.d. fuel rods having Zircaloy-4 cladding thicknesses from 17 to 22 mil. The external coolant pressure (2000 psi) yielded hoop stresses in the range of 11 000 to 15 000 psi. Short rods (6 to 11 in.) were irradiated in an experimental test reactor (ETR) loop [peak fast flux ≅ 1.5 x 1014 n/(cm2 sec) while long rods (∼10 ft) were irradiated in a NRX loop [2.5 x 1013 n/(cm2 sec)]. A method has been developed for separating components of the diameter and length changes caused by Zircaloy growth, external pressure, and fuel-clad interactions. It is concluded that the diameter shrinkages of the former rods (up to about 1 mil, 0.4%) were caused entirely by the external pressure. However, those of the latter rods (up to ∼2 mil, 0.8%) were strongly dependent on fuel-clad interactions, with large diameter shrinkages accompanied by large length increases (up to about 0.7%). A calculational method based on the CYGRO computer program simulates such behavior for long rods.