Tuesday, February 18

Rosatom has completed the first tests of safe nuclear fuel shells

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Scientists have successfully conducted initial tests of silicon carbide nuclear fuel shells in the BOR-60 research reactor. The tests were carried out as part of the program to create a new generation of ATF nuclear fuel safety. This was reported on Wednesday by the press service of the fuel company “TVEL” (part of Rosatom). Fuel element also stands for “fuel element”.

ATF or tolerant fuel is a nuclear fuel that is resistant to emergency situations at nuclear power plants. Even in the event of malfunctions in the reactor core in a tolerant fuel, the occurrence of a vapor-zirconium reaction slows down, contributing to the release of hydrogen, an explosive gas. The introduction of emergency fuel is an important stage in improving the reliability of nuclear power.

“In theory, silicon carbide shells will not only minimize the risks, but completely eliminate the vapor-zirconium reaction at nuclear power plants. Thus, with the introduction of silicon carbide fuel rods, there will be no need for some safety systems, and then it will become cheaper to build nuclear power units. Also, their use can increase the efficiency of modern reactors by increasing fuel burnout and the duration of the fuel campaign,” said the chief expert of the Materials Science and Technology Department of the High-Tech Research Institute of Inorganic Materials (VNIINM, part of TVEL). Fedor Makarov, whose words are given in the message.

Silicon carbide-based materials have high mechanical strength, wear resistance, thermal conductivity, as well as corrosion and radiation resistance, but they are brittle and low-plastic. Silicon carbide fiber, developed at VNIINM, evenly redistributes the load on the reinforcing frame, which makes the shell more durable. Silicon carbide is potentially one of the most promising options for ATF fuel shells, but at the same time the most technologically complex, since silicon carbide fiber fuel rods cannot be manufactured using technology that has been used on metals for decades, Rosatom scientists believe.

Samples of shells with various reinforcement methods were irradiated in the BORON-60 reactor. “Plugs” for silicon carbide fuel rods were also tested. The main purpose of the study is to obtain the first experimental data in Russia on changes in key physical and geometric parameters of silicon carbide products after reactor irradiation. These data are necessary for the development and justification of industrial technology for the serial production of silicon carbide fuel rod shells for water-water nuclear reactors.

 

A source: https://e-cis.info/news/569/110723/

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