Uranium-aluminum pressurized water reactor fuel

Uranium-aluminum pressurized water reactor fuel 

The sole source of information on the corrosion of U-Al, alloy fuel used in PWR SGIs is that of Yefimov, et al. [24], which reports the results obtained from immersion in laboratory sea water of spent fuel from the icebreaker Siberia. In view of the high corrosion rate of 0.3 mm-a established for the sample fuel, this value is used in the model for the soluble fission products fiaction only. A rate an order or magnitude lower, 0.03 mm-a, is applied to the insoluble fraction. Due to the unknown extent of damage to fuel cladding, its effect as a barrier is ignored in the model. 

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Uranium-aluminum pressurized water reactor fuel... 

A variety of fuel elanents are used for different types of reactors, but there are some common features. In most conunercial nnclear power plants (BWR [boiling water reactors] and PWR [pressurized water reactors] that are called in Russian VVER), the pellets are inserted into rods or tubes (usually zirconium alloys) that provide a barrier to prevent escape of fission products, the tubes or rods are arranged in bundles that are loaded into the reactor core. Usually a number of short rods are inserted into the sealed tube and held in place by a spring as described earlier. In some cases, like advanced gas cooled reactors (AGR), peUets are inserted into short narrow steel pins. Magnox reactors use magnesium alloys (usually with aluminum) rather the zirconium alloys. The fuel in some advanced reactors (TRISO) is in the form of microfuel particles with a UO2 (or UC (uranium carbide)) core surrounded by layers of pyrolytic carbon and... 

As part of a develcmment pi ram for a very high power pool i actor, known as the Pressure be factor, a critical experiment was performed by installing a temporary core structure in the pool reactor facility of Industrial Reactor Laboratories, hic., Plainsboro, New Jersey, of which AMF is a part-owner. The PTR is light water moderated and fueled with an aluminum clad uranium-aluminum alloy. The volume composition of the core is similar to that of a typical pool reactor as shown in Table I. 

Zirconium is used as a containment material for the uranium oxide fuel pellets in nuclear power reactors (see Nuclearreactors). Zirconium is particularly usehil for this appHcation because of its ready availabiUty, good ductiUty, resistance to radiation damage, low thermal-neutron absorption cross section 18 x 10 ° ra (0.18 bams), and excellent corrosion resistance in pressurized hot water up to 350°C. Zirconium is used as an alloy strengthening agent in aluminum and magnesium, and as the burning component in flash bulbs. It is employed as a corrosion-resistant metal in the chemical process industry, and as pressure-vessel material of constmction in the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Codes. 

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