ENUSA PROPRIETARY
INSPECTION OF NUCLEAR FUEL
Master Nuclear Engineering. UPC
Csar Tortuero Lpez Fuel Rod Technology Engr. Product Engineering ENUSA Industrias Avanzadas S.A.
ENUSA PROPRIETARY
Content
Inspection of Nuclear Fuel
Objectives and techniques Fuel manufacturing
Inspection stages Equipment and procedures Surveillance and monitoring Failure detection and characterization
Fuel performance and reliability
Experience feedback
ENUSA PROPRIETARY
Content
Inspection of Nuclear Fuel
Objectives and techniques Fuel manufacturing
Inspection stages Equipment and procedures Surveillance and monitoring Failure detection and characterization
Fuel performance and reliability
Experience feedback
ENUSA PROPRIETARY
Fuel Performance and Reliability OVERVIEW
Source: ANT International
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Fuel Performance and Reliability OVERVIEW
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SURVEILLANCE AND MONITORING
Why surveillance and monitoring?
analyzing and recording operating experience (data for models and codes) leakers root cause analysis margin monitoring
Fuel design application reload risk assessment manufacturing excellence
New products supported by experience preventing fuel failures
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SURVEILLANCE AND MONITORING
Corrosion database different designs wide BU range duty index different Li exposure time Zn addition pH strategies FA dimensional inspection different designs wide BU range grid growth FA growth FA twist FA bow FA tilt Not individual inspections IRI risk reduction
Data along the whole BU range Characterization of the bowing pattern
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SURVEILLANCE AND MONITORING
Corrosion FA dimensional inspection Fuel rod VT Chemistry and Radiochemistry follow-up Research programs
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NDT Fuel performance
NDT EXAMINATION Growth Corrosion Distortion
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NDT Fuel performance
Growth, corrosion, distortion analysis fuel performance check design margins database (new models, codes, developments)
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NDT Fuel performance
GROWTH EXAMINATION VT inspection peripheral rods usually coupled to other NDT equipments water, temperature and irradiation resistant remote control illumination Operation basis Image pixel measuring software Rod-to-nozzle gap measure First calibrated to standards Measurement data comparison Manufacture vs Irradiated
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Source: Westinghouse
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NDT Fuel performance
CORROSION ET inspection SICOM device SICOM-ROD SICOM-COR
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NDT Fuel performance
SICOM-COR CORROSION ET performed along the FA Calibration: out-of-pile and in-pile Distortion of lift-off Layer thickness of the crud and oxide First crud brushing Magnetic permeability of the crud Peripheral rods (for internal rods SICOM-ROD)
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NDT Fuel performance
CORROSION SICOM-ROD Corrosion and diameter measure Calibration: out-of-pile and in-pile Oxide standards manufacturing Rod removal from the FA required Guide avoid rod vibrations Remote control
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NDT Fuel performance
DIMENSIONAL
Distance between top and bottom nozzles Rod-to-nozzle gap of peripheral rods on each nozzle Gaps between rods Characterization of bow, twist and tilt Height of the top nozzle springs Grids width
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Visual Inspections
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Visual Inspections
Crud Removal
VT before UFC
UCF device
VT after UFC
HE-UCF device
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FUEL RELIABILITY
Failure detection and characterization
Monitoring of fission products (Iodine and noble gas) in the PWCS supplies information about the fuel behavior The coolant activity helps to: Identify the failed fuel assembly
A c tiv ity ( C i 1.0E+02 1.0E+01
POWER (%) I-131
PWR02, CYCLE N POWER VS. ACTIVITY
I-133 I-134 Xe-133 Xe-135
1.0E+00
Number of failed rods
Burnup of the failed rods Location of the FA in the core Kind of defect Degree of degradation
1.0E-01
1.0E-02
1.0E-03
1.0E-04
1.0E-05
Give information for root cause analysis Coolant tramp (uranium contamination)
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
550
Days from BOC
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Failure detection and characterization
Non-failed plant monitoring
I-131 Ci/g I-133 Ci/g I-134 Ci/g Xe-133 Ci/g Xe-135 Ci/g POTENCIA (%)
1.00E-02
100 90 80
1.00E-03
70
ACTIVITY ( Ci/g)
60
1.00E-04
50 40 30
1.00E-05
20 10
1.00E-06
0 22/01/12 21/02/12 22/03/12 21/04/12
23/12/11
DATE (dd/mm/aa)
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POWER (%)
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FUEL RELIABILITY
Inspection
Failure inspections Failed FA identification (Sippinggamma) 4-face VT simultaneously UT failed rod
In core
Refuelling
Off load SIPPING
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FUEL RELIABILITY
Inspection
Failure inspections Failed rod identification (Sippinggamma) 4-face VT simultaneously UT failed rod
UT failed rod
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FUEL RELIABILITY
UT inspection
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FUEL PERFORMANCE AND RELIABILITY
QUESTIONS?
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Content
Inspection of Nuclear Fuel
Objectives and techniques Fuel manufacturing
Inspection stages Equipment and procedures Surveillance and monitoring Failure detection and characterization
Fuel performance and reliability
Experience feedback
24
ENUSA PROPRIETARY
Experience feedback
Growth
Grid and rods growth characterization IRI risk reduction Characterization of the bowing pattern in the core
Corrosion
Current design corrosion margins Quantification of margin improvement (new design/material) Surveillance of corrosion trends Impact of Zn addition
Dimensional
Evolution of fuel rod diameter during irradiation Development of new models for rod growth
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Experience feedback
Corrosion
Current design corrosion margins Quantification of margin improvement (new design/material) Surveillance of corrosion trends Impact of Zn addition
140
100
Database of MAEF without IFM grids
120
90 80 Oxide thickness (m) 70 60 50 40 30 20
Database of MAEF with IFM grids
100 Oxide thickness m) (
80
60
40
10 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
20
Rod Average Burnup (MWd/kgU)
0 0 100 200 300 400 MFDI 500 600 700 800 900
EOC14 1 cycles EOC15 1 cycles
EOC14 2 cycles EOC15 2 cycles
EOC14 3 cycles
ZIRLOTM corrosion database from PIC
Vandells II maximum oxide thickness vs. rod average burnup
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Experience feedback
Growth
Grid and rods growth characterization IRI risk reduction Characterization of the bowing pattern in the core
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6 4 9
9 13 8 9 5 7 7 9 10 10 8 9 6
5 7 3 4 3 7 6 4 4 1
13
14
12
17 7 9 7 6 12 8 10
18 4 13 10 16 12 12
7 7
AEF
MAEF
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ENUSA PROPRIETARY
Experience feedback
Dimensional
Evolution of fuel rod diameter during irradiation Development of new models for rod growth
1.000
1.000
New BE model
0.900
BE model UB model LB model
0.900
New UB model
0.800
0.800
New LB model
0.700
0.700
0.600
0.600
Growth (%)
Growth (%)
0.500
0.500
0.400
0.400
0.300
0.300
0.200
0.200
0.100
0.100
0.000
0.000 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
8
21
9
2
10
11
12
13
14
15
Fast Fluence (E>1.0Mev (x10 n/cm ))
Fast Fluence (E>1.0Mev (x1021n/cm2))
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Experience feedback
Radiochemistry follow-up
Inspection and RCA of any leaker Objective: zero failures Main failure cause: debris Foreign Material Exclusion Program
R&D
Hot cells Programs Internal research Specific R&D helps to detect and understand performance issues precursors
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EXPERIENCE FEEDBACK
QUESTIONS?
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