Appendix 2: Development of LWR Fuels with Enhanced Accident Tolerance; Task 2 – Description of Research & Development Required to Qualify
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Appendix 2: Development of LWR Fuels with Enhanced Accident Tolerance; Task 2 – Description of Research & Development Required to Qualify the Technical Concept Westinghouse Non-Proprietary Class 3 Award Number DE-NE0000566 Development of LWR Fuels with Enhanced Accident Tolerance Task 2 – Description of Research & Development Required to Qualify the Technical Concept RT-TR-13-8 May 31, 2013 Westinghouse Electric Company LLC 1000 Cranberry Woods Drive Cranberry Woods, PA 16066 Principal Investigator: Dr. Edward J. Lahoda Project Manager: Frank A. Boylan Author: Peng Xu Team Members Westinghouse Electric Company LLC General Atomics Idaho National Laboratory Massachusetts Institute of Technology Texas A&M University Los Alamos National Laboratory Edison Welding Institute Southern NuclearNucl Operating Company Southern Nuclear Company Table of Contents Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 5 Task 2.1. Cladding Bench Scale Development (Phase 2) ................................................... 5 Subtask 2.1.1. Coated Zr Alloy Tube Processing Bench Scale Development (Phase 2) ...... 5 Subtask 2.1.2. SiC CMC Processing Bench Scale Development (Phase 2) ......................... 6 Subtask 2.1.3. Post ATF Cladding Fabrication Processing ................................................... 8 Subtask 2.1.4. Characterization and Property Determination of ATF Cladding Tubes .......... 8 Task 2.2. Fuel Bench Scale Development (Phase 2 and 3) ................................................ 9 Subtask 2.2.1. Synthesis of UN from UF6 (Phase 2) ............................................................. 9 Subtask 2.2.2. U3Si2 Fuel Bench Scale Development (Phase 2) ........................................ 11 Subtask 2.2.4. N15 Enrichment (Phase 3) .......................................................................... 13 Task 2.3. Burnable Absorber and Reactivity Control (Phase 2) ........................................ 14 Task 2.4. Rodlet Irradiation Testing and PIE (Phase 2 and 3) .......................................... 15 Subtask 2.4.1. Proof of Concept Irradiation and PIE of Proposed ATF (Phase 3) .............. 15 Subtask 2.4.2. Fuel Performance Modeling and Licensing Irradiation of Proposed ATF (Phase 3) ............................................................................................................................. 17 Task 2.5. Other R&D Needs (Phases 2 and 3) ................................................................. 18 Subtask 2.5.1. Pilot Scale Development and Testing for SiC and Coated Zr Alloy Cladding (Phase 3) ............................................................................................................................. 18 Subtask 2.5.2. Production Scale Development and Testing for SiC Cladding (Phase 3) .... 21 Subtask 2.5.3. Additional R&D Supporting Codes and Standards Development (Phase 2) 21 Subtask 2.5.4. Pilot Scale Development and Testing for Fuel and N15 (Phase 3) ............. 23 Subtask 2.5.5. Production Scale Development and Testing for Fuel and N15 (Phase 3) ... 24 Conclusions and Recommendations ....................................................................................... 24 References .............................................................................................................................. 26 Appendix A List of Acronyms ............................................................................................. 28 2 Executive Summary The program required to develop the technology to qualify and commercialize the Westinghouse Electric Company LLC‟s Accident Tolerant Fuel (ATF) is outlined in this report. An analysis was performed as part of Task 1 of the ATF program to identify areas critical to the development and potential commercialization of ATF [36]. The analysis performed during Task 1 included discussion of potential NRC requirements for ATF, proposed specifications and architectures of the fuel and cladding, as well as preliminary analysis of the ATF performance and accident tolerant features. This report, Task 2 of the ATF program, outlines the research and development (R&D) work required to implement the ATF fuel and cladding concepts in commercial reactors. The research and development work leading to a lead test rod (LTR) or lead test assembly (LTA) during phases 2 and 3, includes the following areas: Bench scale fuel development including UN and U3Si2 fuel powder production from UF6, U3Si2 and UN-U3Si2 fuel pellet fabrication, and N15 enrichment. Bench and pilot scale SiC ceramic matrix composite (CMC) and coated zirconium alloy tube development including 3 ft long and full length tubes with hermetic end plugs. Design work needed for integrating burnable absorbers and reactivity controls. Long term test reactor rodlet irradiation and post irradiation examination (PIE). Other R&D work including code and standard development, quality assurance program development, detailed core design, and operational analysis. R&D scope and highlights are summarized as follows: Bench scale production process development is required for both fuel and cladding prior to test reactor irradiation because the irradiation data will be used to acquire exemptions for LTRs/LTAs under 10CFR50 and for initial testing and future licensing of ATF for region reloads in commercial reactors. Numerous potential heavy metal fluorite chemical processing routes are available for conversion of UF6 to UN, and there is a potential process to convert UF6 to UF4 to U3Si2 using a modified process defined in a US patent (US 5,901,338). A ZrB2 Integral Fuel Burnable Absorber (IFBA) is most likely to be used in PWR fuel as the coating layer for U3Si2 or U3Si2-UN fuels. Coating thickness will be larger than for current UO2 fuel because of the higher heavy metal loading for the new fuels. Coating of the ATF fuels with ZrB2 must be demonstrated. A combination of ZrB2 coating and Gd neutron absorbers should be used for BWR fuel because BWR requires higher neutron adsorption abilities than PWR. Development of computer models for the ATF is needed in the following areas: fuel rod performance, thermal hydraulics, transient analysis, and reactor physics. Laser Isotope Separation (LIS) is concluded to be an economic and technically feasible approach for industrial scale production of N15 isotopes with a minimal environmental impact. Acknowledgment: This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy under Award Number DE-NE0000566. Disclaimer: This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned 3 rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. 4 Introduction During Task 1 of the DOE award DE-NE0000566, the Westinghouse-led ATF team described the Westinghouse team‟s ATF concept and enumerated areas that required further research and development [36]. This report, performed as Task 2 of this program, describes the R&D needed to fully qualify and commercialize this ATF concept. This includes the development and testing needed in the short term (two years) and long term. The program goal is to have either a LTR or LTA in a commercial reactor by 2022. In this report, the short term tasks in FY14-15 are defined as phase 2 of the ATF program, and the long term tasks in FY16-22 are defined as phase 3 of the ATF program. Rough cost estimates (+50%/-10%) are also provided. It is worth noting that not all necessary activities for a commercial application are included in the report. These activities are mainly vendor specific and will be included in the Phase 3 of the ATF program. More specific activities that are not included in this report are listed below: Transient testing (Pellet Cladding Interaction (PCI), Rod Injection Accident (RIA)) Solubility in water of irradiated fuel Seismic testing Lead rods in a commercial reactor, and the pertinent PIE program Neutronic codes Choice of fiber, its desired properties, and the issue of lubrication/slippage vs. pseudo- ductility NRC Licensing Task 2.1. Cladding Bench Scale Development (Phase 2) The development of ATF cladding will be performed in several length or volume scales to ensure fabrication efficiency and necessary validation of process scale-up to full-size coated Zirc cladding as well as SiC cladding. Bench scale development will be performed to confirm fabrication methods such as SiC fiber winding in CMC fabrication and coating deposition method. Generally bench scale development efforts in ATF cladding samples involve 3 ft in length and tens of 1 ft length. These intermediate length ATF samples would