• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.40 no.5
• /
• pp.409-418
• /
• 2008

Because the interaction layers that form between U-Mo particles and the Al matrix degrade the thermal properties of U-Mo/Al dispersion fuel, an investigation was undertaken of the undesirable feedback effect between an interaction layer growth and a centerline temperature increase for dispersion fuel. The radial temperature distribution due to interaction layer growth during irradiation was calculated iteratively in relation to changes in the volume fractions, the thermal conductivities of the constituents, and the oxide thickness with the burnup. The interaction layer growth, which is estimated on the basis of the temperature calculations, showed a reasonable agreement with the post-irradiation examination results of the U-Mo/Al dispersion fuel rods irradiated at the HANARO reactor. The U-Mo particle size was found to be a dominant factor that determined the fuel temperature during irradiation. Dispersion fuel with larger U-Mo particles revealed lower levels of both the interaction layer formation and the fuel temperature increase. The results confirm that the use of large U-Mo particles appears to be an effective way of mitigating the thermal degradation of U-Mo/Al dispersion fuel.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.39 no.5
• /
• pp.617-626
• /
• 2007

A centrifugal atomization process for uranium fuel was developed in order to fabricate high uranium density dispersion fuel for advanced research reactors. Spherical powders of $U_3Si$ and U-Mo were successfully fabricated and dispersed in aluminum matrices. Thermal and mechanical properties of dispersion fuel meat were characterized. Irradiation tests at the research reactor HANARO confirm the excellent performance of high uranium density dispersion fuel.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.46 no.2
• /
• pp.159-168
• /
• 2014

In order to advance understanding of the breakaway swelling behavior of U-Mo/Al dispersion fuel under a high-power irradiation condition, the effects of fuel-matrix interaction on the fuel performance of U-Mo/Al dispersion fuel were investigated. Fission gas release into large interfacial pores between interaction layers and the Al matrix was analyzed using both mechanistic models and observations of the post-irradiation examination results of U-Mo dispersion fuels. Using the model predictions, advantageous fuel design parameters are recommended to prevent breakaway swelling.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.51 no.2
• /
• pp.495-500
• /
• 2019

When a new fuel is developed, various mechanical properties are absolutely necessary for a safety analysis of the fuel for the licensing and prediction of its mechanical behavior during operation and accident conditions. In this paper, a mechanically equivalent surrogate plate of U-Mo dispersion fuel is presented using tungsten, substitute material of U-Mo particle. A surrogate plate, composed of tungsten/aluminum dispersion meat and aluminum alloy cladding, is manufactured with the same fabrication process with that of fuel plate except that a tungsten powder is used instead of U-Mo powder. A modal test showed that the surrogate plate and fuel plate have similar dynamic characteristics, and a tensile test demonstrated the similarity of the material property up to the yield strength range. The conducted tests proved that the surrogate tungsten plate has equivalent mechanical behaviors with that of a fuel plate, which leads to the acceptable use of a surrogate fuel assembly using tungsten/aluminum dispersion meat in various mechanical tests. The surrogate fuel assembly can be utilized for various out-of-pile characteristic tests, which are necessary for the licensing achievement of a research reactor that uses U-Mo dispersion fuel as a driver.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
• /
• 2009.05a
• /
• pp.163-166
• /
• 2009

For the preparation of Aluminum-slurry fuel, the effects of process parameters on the aluminum dispersion stability in the liquid fuel have been investigated. The dispersion stability of aluminum-slurry fuels could be monitored by measurements through Turbiscan using the scattering of the Laser. Through the application of various additives, TPAB (Tetrapropyl ammonium bromide) showed more reasonable performance than others.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.34-40
• /
• 2009

For the preparation of carbon-slurry fuel, the effects of process parameters on the carbon dispersion stability in the liquid fuel have been investigated. The dispersion stability of carbon-slurry fuels could be monitored by measurements of particle size and carbon contents in the different positions, and observation of dispersion states after centrifuging. Through the application of various additives, it was found that NB463S84 based on polyolefin succinimde showed the best dispersion and longest stability life of carbon-slurry fuel. Also, PIBSI (polyisobutenyl succimide) with the similar functional groups to NB463S84 was effectively synthesized and same dispersion stability was verified by application to carbon-slurry fuel. Finally, the possibility of practical use of carbon-slurry fuels was confirmed by application of the mixing conditions obtained from g scale to kg scale preparation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.49 no.3
• /
• pp.645-650
• /
• 2017

This technical note demonstrates the feasibility of using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for the characterization of U-7Mo/Ale5Si dispersion fuel. Our measurements show 5.0% Relative Standard Deviation (RSD) for the reproducibility of measured $^{98}Mo/^{238}U$ ratios in fuel particles from spot analysis, and 3.4% RSD for $^{98}Mo/^{238}U$ ratios in a NIST-SRM 612 glass standard. Line scanning allows for the distinction of U-7Mo fuel particles from the Al-5Si matrix. Each mass spectrum peak indicates the presence of U-7Mo fuel particles, and the time width of each peak corresponds to the size of that fuel particle. The size of the fuel particles is estimated from the time width of the mass spectrum peak for $^{98}Mo$ by considering the scan rate used during the line scan. This preliminary application clearly demonstrates that laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry can directly identify isotope ratios and sizes of the fuel particles in U-Mo/Al dispersion fuel. Once optimized further, this instrument will be a powerful tool for investigating irradiated dispersion fuels in terms of fission product distributions in fuel matrices, and the changes in fuel particle size or shape after irradiation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.45 no.7
• /
• pp.847-858
• /
• 2013

Since 2001, a series of five irradiation test campaigns for atomized U-Mo dispersion fuel rods, KOMO-1, -2, -3, -4, and -5, has been conducted at HANARO (Korea) in order to develop high performance low enriched uranium dispersion fuel for research reactors. The KOMO irradiation tests provided valuable information on the irradiation behavior of U-Mo fuel that results from the distinct fuel design and irradiation conditions of the rod fuel for HANARO. Full size U-Mo dispersion fuel rods of 4-5 $g-U/cm^3$ were irradiated at a maximum linear power of approximately 105 kW/m up to 85% of the initial U-235 depletion burnup without breakaway swelling or fuel cladding failure. Electron probe microanalyses of the irradiated samples showed localized distribution of the silicon that was added in the matrix during fuel fabrication and confirmed its beneficial effect on interaction layer growth during irradiation. The modifications of U-Mo fuel particles by the addition of a ternary alloying element (Ti or Zr), additional protective coatings (silicide or nitride), and the use of larger fuel particles resulted in significantly reduced interaction layers between fuel particles and Al.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.33-40
• /
• 2016

Liquid fuel can be easily exploded and release more energy of detonation than conventional explosives because it has different explosion mechanism. In order to analyze dispersion characteristics of liquid fuel for the safety purpose, two tests are conducted. First, pre-test, which is a computer simulation, is carried out by a software called ANSYS AUTODYN to eliminate the effect of a canister that usually causes irregular dispersion of the fuel. Second, field test is performed to find out the amount and density effect of bursting charge. High speed cameras are installed in front of the canister to visualize the mechanism. Velocity, area and radius of the dispersed cloud are measured by image processing software, these are shown that the amount of bursting charge affects cloud velocity and area but density is not a significant factor of cloud formation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.50 no.6
• /
• pp.899-906
• /
• 2018

The irradiation performance of $U_3Si$ dispersion fuel in an Al matrix, $U_3Si-Al$, under the Hi-Flux Advanced Neutron Application Reactor (HANARO) design full-power condition of 30 MW was tested for full-power qualification of the fuel. A test assembly was fabricated containing 18 fuel rods made with atomized $U_3Si$ powder manufactured at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. The test assembly was irradiated for 188 full-power operation days in the HANARO subject to the normal fuel-loading scheme and achieved about 60 at% U-235 average burnup and 75 at% U-235 peak burnup. The maximum linear power of the test assembly was 98 kW/m. Nondestructive and destructive postirradiation examinations were conducted. The measured postirradiation examination data were compared with data from previous irradiations and the design criteria required for HANARO fuel. Consequently, it was concluded that in-pile performance was acceptable and fuel integrity was maintained, and the behavior satisfied the fuel design requirements.