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Journal Articles Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology Year : 2018

Fukushima Daiichi fuel debris simulant materials for the development of cutting and collection technologies

Abstract

Cutting fuel debris (solidified corium) is an important issue for the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The main reasons for developing and using fuel debris simulants are presented. The relative merits of the various types of materials (stainless steel, zirconium, sintered alumina-zirconia, cast fused zirconia, metal+zirconia, melted inactive simulants, prototypic fuel debris simulant, irradiated fuel debris simulant) that can be used to simulate fuel debris cutting have been assessed against criteria relevant for the cutting technique itself (hardness, melting temperature, elastic modulus, toughness, heterogeneity) as well as relevant to (radioactive) aerosol and combustible gas generation. It appears that simplified simulants can be used for the development of fuel debris cutting techniques but have some limitations in terms of representativity so that melted inactive fuel debris simulant must be used to assess the cutting performance. Concerning combustible gas generation, zirconium plates will provide an upper bound in term of underwater generation of hydrogen. Finally, for aerosol and dust generation, it appears that non-radioactive simulant cannot correctly represent the aerosol formation during cutting. Prototypic fuel debris simulant, using depleted uranium and natural isotopic composition for the fission product elements are the best available option for determination of cutting secondary outlet.
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Dates and versions

cea-02339836 , version 1 (11-07-2022)

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Christophe Journeau, Damien Roulet, Emmanuel Porcheron, Pascal Piluso, Christophe Chagnot. Fukushima Daiichi fuel debris simulant materials for the development of cutting and collection technologies. Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 2018, 55 (9), pp.985-995. ⟨10.1080/00223131.2018.1462267⟩. ⟨cea-02339836⟩
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