Fission Product Release Under Supercritical Water-Cooled Reactor Conditions

Abstract

Most supercritical water-cooled reactor (SCWR) concepts being considered as part of the Generation IV initiative are direct cycle. In the event of a fuel defect, the coolant will contact the fuel pellet, potentially releasing fission products and actinides into the coolant and transporting them to the turbines. At the high pressure (25 MPa) in an SCWR, the coolant does not undergo a phase change as it passes through the critical temperature in the core, and nongaseous species may be transported out of the core and deposited on out-of-core components, leading to increased worker dose. It is therefore important to identify species with a high risk of release and develop models of their transport and deposition behavior. This paper presents the results of preliminary leaching tests in SCW of U-Th simulated fuel pellets prepared from natural U and Th containing representative concentrations of the (inactive) oxides of fission products corresponding to a fuel burnup of 60  GWd/ton. The results show that Sr and Ba are released at relatively high concentrations at 400°C and 500°C.