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Howard, Rob L

Publications and source records attributed to Howard, Rob L.

28 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

Development of U-Frame Bending System for Studying the Vibration Integrity of Spent Nuclear Fuel

A bending fatigue system developed to evaluate the response of spent nuclear fuel rods to vibration loads is presented. Design and analysis, fabrication, modification, calibration, and instrumentation are described. The system is composed of a U-frame testing setup for imposing bending loads on the spent fuel rod test specimen and a method for measuring the curvature of the rod during bending. The U-frame setup consists of two rigid arms, linking members, and linkages to a universal testing machine. The test specimen s curvature of bending is obtained through a three-point deflection measurement method consisting of three LVDTs mounted to the side connecting plates of the U-frame to capture the deformation of the test specimen. The system has some unique features: 1) The test specimen is installed by simple insertion using linear bearings incorporated with rigid sleeves. 2) Reverse cyclic bending tests can be carried out effectively and efficiently by push and pull at the loading point of the setup. Any test machine with a linear motion function can be used to drive the setup. 3) The embedded and preloaded linear roller bearings eliminate the backlash that exists in the conventional reverse bend tests. 4) The number of linkages between the U-frame and the universal machine is minimized. Namely, there are only two linkages needed at the two loading points of a U-frame setup, whereas a conventional four/three-point bend test frame requires four linkages. 5) The curvature measurement is immune to the effects arising from compliant layers and the rigid body motion of the machine. The compliant layers are used at the holding areas of the specimen to prevent contact damage. The tests using surrogate specimens composed of SS cladding/tube revealed several important phenomena that may cast light on the expected response of a spent fuel rod: 1) Cyclic quasi-static load (10 N/s under force control) in compressive mode (with respect to that at the loading point of the U-frame) produced increased irreversible or plastic curvature and also increased flexural rigidity of the surrogate rod. 2) Dynamic cyclic load (at least 1 Hz) in compressive mode resulted in increased flexural rigidity of the surrogate rod prior to SS cladding fracture. 3) Pellets and epoxy bonding exhibited various effects on the response of surrogate rods during the loading process as validated from static tests. 4) Dynamic cyclic load (2 Hz) in reverse mode demonstrated a substantial cyclic softening before the fracture of the surrogate rod. The degree of decrease in flexural rigidity was consistent in both measurement and on-line monitoring. The developed U-frame system is thus verified and demonstrated to be ready for further pursuit in hot-cell tests.

fuel transporation↗
DOE OSTI2013

ADVANTG Shielding Analysis for Closure Operations in an Open-Mode Repository

en-mode repository concepts could require worker entry into access drifts after placement of fuel casks in order to perform activities related to backfill, plug emplacement, routine maintenance, or performance confirmation. An ideal emplacement-drift shielding configuration would minimize dose to workers while maximizing airflow through the emplacement drifts. This paper presents a preliminary investigation of the feasibility and effectiveness of radiation shielding concepts that could be employed to facilitate worker operations in an open-mode repository. The repository model for this study includes pressurized-water reactor fuel assemblies (60 GWd/MTU burnup, 40 year post-irradiation cooldown) in packages of 32 assemblies. The closest fuel packages are 5 meters from dosimetry voxels in the access drift. The unshielded dose to workers in the access drift is 73.7 rem/hour. Prior work suggests that open-mode repository concepts similar to this one would require 15 m3/s of ventilation airflow. Shielding concepts considered here include partial concrete plugs, labyrinthine shields, and stainless steel photon attenuator grids. Maximum dose to workers in the access drift was estimated for each shielding concept using MCNP5 with variance reduction parameters generated by ADVANTG. Because airflow through the shielding is important for open-mode repositories, a semi-empirical estimate of the head loss due to each shielding configuration was also calculated. Airflow and shielding performance vary widely among the proposed shielding configurations. Although the partial plug configuration had the best airflow performance, it allowed dose rates 1500 greater than the specified target. Labyrinthine shielding concepts yield doses on the order of 1 mrem/hour with configurations that impose 3 to 11 J/kg head loss. Adding 1 cm lead lining to the airflow channels of labyrinthine designs further reduces the worker dose by 65% to 95%. Photon-attenuator concepts may reduce worker dose to as low as 29 mrem/hour with head loss on the order of 1.9 J/kg.

advantg↗
DOE OSTI2013

TEST SYSTEM FOR EVALUATING SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL BENDING STIFFNESS AND VIBRATION INTEGRITY

Transportation packages for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) must meet safety requirements specified by federal regulations. For normal conditions of transport, vibration loads incident to transport must be considered. This is particularly relevant for high-burnup fuel (>45 GWd/MTU). As the burnup of the fuel increases, a number of changes occur that may affect the performance of the fuel and cladding in storage and during transportation. The mechanical properties of high-burnup de-fueled cladding have been previously studied by subjecting defueled cladding tubes to longitudinal (axial) tensile tests, ring-stretch tests, ring-compression tests, and biaxial tube burst tests. The objective of this study is to investigate the mechanical properties and behavior of both the cladding and the fuel in it under vibration/cyclic loads similar to the sustained vibration loads experienced during normal transport. The vibration loads to SNF rods during transportation can be characterized by dynamic, cyclic, bending loads. The transient vibration signals in a specified transport environment can be analyzed, and frequency, amplitude and phase components can be identified. The methodology being implemented is a novel approach to study the vibration integrity of actual SNF rod segments through testing and evaluating the fatigue performance of SNF rods at defined frequencies. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has developed a bending fatigue system to evaluate the response of the SNF rods to vibration loads. A three-point deflection measurement technique using linear variable differential transformers is used to characterize the bending rod curvature, and electromagnetic force linear motors are used as the driving system for mechanical loading. ORNL plans to use the test system in a hot cell for SNF vibration testing on high burnup, irradiated fuel to evaluate the pellet-clad interaction and bonding on the effective lifetime of fuel-clad structure bending fatigue performance. Technical challenges include pure bending implementation, remote installation and detachment of the SNF test specimen, test specimen deformation measurement, and identification of a driving system suitable for use in a hot cell. Surrogate test specimens have been used to calibrate the test setup and conduct systematic cyclic tests. The calibration and systematic cyclic tests have been used to identify test protocol issues prior to implementation in the hot cell. In addition, cyclic hardening in unidirectional bending and softening in reverse bending were observed in the surrogate test specimens. The interface bonding between the surrogate clad and pellets was found to impact the bending response of the surrogate rods; confirming this behavior in the actual spent fuel segments will be an important aspect of the hot cell test implementation,

reversal bending fatigue tester↗
DOE OSTI2013

Reversible Bending Fatigue Test System for Investigating Vibration Integrity of Spent Nuclear Fuel during Transportation

Transportation packages for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) must meet safety requirements under normal and accident conditions as specified by federal regulations. During transportation, SNF experiences unique conditions and challenges to cladding integrity due to the vibrational and impact loading during road or rail shipment. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has been developing testing capabilities that can be used to improve the understanding of the impacts on SNF integrity due to vibration loading, especially for high burn-up SNF in normal transportation operation conditions. This information can be used to meet the nuclear industry and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission needs in the area of safety and security of spent nuclear fuel storage and transport operations. The ORNL developed test system can perform reversible-bending fatigue testing to evaluate both the static and dynamic mechanical response of SNF rods under simulated loads. The testing apparatus is also designed to meet the challenges of hot-cell operation, including remote installation and detachment of the SNF test specimen, in-situ test specimen deformation measurement, and implementation of a driving system suitable for use in a hot cell. The system contains a U-frame set-up equipped with uniquely designed grip rigs, to protect SNF rod and to ensure valid test results, and use of 3 specially designed LVDTs to obtain the in-situ curvature measurement. A variety of surrogate test rods have been used to develop and calibrate the test system as well as in performing a series of systematic cyclic fatigue tests. The surrogate rods include stainless steel (SS) cladding, SS cladding with cast epoxy, and SS cladding with alumina pellets inserts simulating fuel pellets. Testing to date has shown that the interface bonding between the SS cladding and the alumina pellets has a significant impact on the bending response of the test rods as well as their fatigue strength. The failure behaviors observed from tested surrogate rods provides a fundamental understanding of the underlying failure mechanisms of the SNF surrogate rod under vibration which has not been achieved previously. The newly developed device is scheduled to be installed in the hot-cell in summer 2013 to test high burnup SNF.

high burn-up spent fuel↗
DOE OSTI2013

Preparation of Prototypic Irradiated Hydrided-Zircaloy Cladding for UFDC Programs

The DOE Used Fuel Disposition Campaign (UFDC) has tasked ORNL to investigate the behavior of light-water-reactor fuel cladding material performance related to extended storage and transportation of used fuel. Fast neutron irradiation of pre-hydrided zirconium-alloy cladding in the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at elevated temperatures has been used to simulate the effects of high burnup on used fuel cladding for use in understanding the materials properties relevant to very long-term storage (VLTS) and subsequent transportation. The irradiated pre-hydrided metallic materials will generate baseline data to benchmark hot-cell testing of high-burnup used fuel cladding; and, more importantly, samples free of alpha contamination can be provided to the researchers who do not have hot cell facilities to handle highly contaminated high-burnup used fuel cladding to support their research projects for the UFDC. In order to accomplish this research, ORNL has produced unirradiated zirconium-based cladding tubes with a certain hydrogen concentration. Two capsules (HYCD-1 and HYCD-2) containing hydrided zirconium-based samples, 9.50 mm (0.374 in) in diameter, were inserted in HFIR for neutron irradiation. HYCD-1 was removed after Cycle 440B and HYCD-2 after Cycle 442. This paper will describe the general HYCD experiment configuration, achieved temperatures, and temperature gradients within the cladding, and current results of the PIE of the irradiated hydrided cladding samples.

prototypic irradiated zircaloy cladding unirradiat↗