PROBLEMS OF ATOMIC SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Series: Nuclear and Reactor Constants

since 1971

Русский (РФ)

ISSN 2414-1038 (online)

Authors & Affiliations

Gonchar N.I.
A.I. Leypunsky Institute for Physics and Power Engineering, Obninsk, Russia

Gonchar N.I. – Senior Researcher, A.I. Leypunsky Institute for Physics and Power Engineering. Contacts: 1, sq. Bondarenko, Obninsk, Kaluga reg., Russia, 249033. Tel.: +7(484) 399-42-59, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Abstract

An ingress of natural uranium and thorium impurity in clad steel and heavy liquid metal coolant in gaseous fission products activity in cover gas and in delayed neutrons concentration in coolant estimated. The estimation made as an example calculation for reactor with fast neutron spectrum cooled by lead-bismuth eutectic. Cladding failure detection produce by measuring of gaseous fission product activity in cover gas and delayed neutrons abundance in coolant. With the leak tightness of all cladding kept intact the ingress of fission product included the delayed neutron mother nuclide into coolant is due to: process contamination of a cladding surface with fuel composition in the course of fuel element fabrication and natural uranium and thorium impurity in clad steel, fuel assembly cans and heavy liquid metal coolant itself. A fission product activity produced by that ingress in the primary circuit media is starting point to record a fuel element seal failure. Delayed neutron concentration in coolant produced by that ingress is the lower bound of significant clad failure that can be record.

Keywords
cladding failure detection, heavy liquid metal coolant, natural uranium and thorium impurity, gaseous fission product, delayed neutrons

Article Text (PDF, in Russian)

References

UDC 621.039.534.6

Problems of Atomic Science and Technology. Series: Nuclear and Reactor Constants, 2018, issue 5, 5:19