Metallographic examinations and hydrogen measurements of high-burnup spent nuclear fuel cladding

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Abstract

In the US, commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is transferred to interim dry storage casks where it will be stored for decades awaiting transport to a consolidated interim storage facility or a geologic repository. Because the fuel rod cladding is the first barrier against any radioactive material release, understanding the behavior of SNF cladding, particularly at high burnup (HBU), in dry storage conditions is crucial to safely store and transport the spent fuel. In this study, a series of metallographic examinations and cladding hydrogen measurements were conducted on HBU SNF cladding at Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a part of the High Burnup Spent Fuel Data Project, which is sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE). To investigate the effect of simulated drying conditions on the cladding, three as-received fuel rods with different cladding materials—M5, ZIRLO, and Zircaloy-4—were heated to 400°C and then slow-cooled to room temperature. The pellet and cladding were then qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed and compared in terms of pellet crack morphology, HBU rim, waterside oxide, cladding H, and cladding hydride morphologies. This paper presents and discusses the results of these analyses in detail.

Original languageEnglish
Article number154833
JournalJournal of Nuclear Materials
Volume589
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2024

Funding

This material is based on work supported by DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy under the Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition's Spent Fuel and Waste Science and Technology Campaign as part of the High Burnup Spent Fuel Data Project.

Keywords

  • Disposal
  • Dry storage
  • High burnup
  • Hydrides
  • M5
  • Metallography
  • Reorientation
  • Sibling pins
  • Sister rods
  • Spent fuel
  • Transport
  • ZIRLO
  • Zircaloy

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