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Results for “postirradiation examinations”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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12 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1975

Design, fabrication, and operation of capsules for the irradiation testing of candidate advanced space reactor fuel pins

Fuel irradiation experiments were designed, built, and operated to test uranium mononitride (UN) fuel clad in tungsten-lined T-111 and uranium dioxide fuel clad in both tungsten-lined T-111 and tungsten-lined Nb-1% Zr. A total of nine fuel pins was irradiated at average cladding temperatures ranging from 931 to 1015 C. The UN experiments, capsules UN-4 and -5, operated for 10,480 and 10,037 hr, respectively, at an average linear heat generation rate of 10 kW/ft. The UO2 experiment, capsule UN-6, operated for 8333 hr at an average linear heat generation rate of approximately 5 kW/ft. Following irradiation, the nine fuel pins were removed from their capsules, externally examined, and sent to the NASA Plum Brook Facility for more detailed postirradiation examination. During visual examination, it was discovered that the cladding of the fuel pin containing dense UN in each of capsules UN-4 and -5 had failed, exposing the UN fuel to the NaK in which the pins were submerged and permitting the release of fission gas from the failed pins. A rough analysis of the fission gas seen in samples of the gas in the fuel pin region indicated fission gas release-to-birth rates from these fuel pins in the range of .00001.

Thoms, K. R.↗
NASA NTRS1971

Molybdenum-UO2 cerment irradiation at 1145 K

Two molybdenum-UO2 cermet fuel pins were fission heated in a helium-cooled loop at a temperature of 1145 K and to a total burnup of 5.3 % of the U-235. After irradiation the fuel pins were measured to check dimensional stability, punctured at the plenums to determine fission gas release, and examined metallographically to determine the effect of irradiation. Burnup was determined in several sections of the fuel pin. The results of the postirradiation examination indicated: (1) There was no visible change in the fuel pins on irradiation under the above conditions. (2) The maximum swelling of the fuel pins was less than 1%. (3) There was no migration of UO2 and no visible interaction between the molybdenum and the UO2. (4) Approximately 12% of the fission gas formed was released from the cermet cone into the gas plenum.

Mcdonald, G.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Results of Uranium Dioxide-Tungsten Irradiation Test and Post-Test Examination

A uranium dioxide (UO2) fueled capsule was fabricated and irradiated in the NASA Plum Brook Reactor Facility. The capsule consisted of two bulk UO2 specimens clad with chemically vapor deposited tungsten (CVD W) 0.762 and 0.1016 cm (0.030-and 0.040-in.) thick, respectively. The second specimen with 0.1016-cm (0.040-in.) thick cladding was irradiated at temperature for 2607 hours, corresponding to an average burnup of 1.516 x 10 to the 20th power fissions/cu cm. Postirradiation examination showed distortion in the bottom end cap, failure of the weld joint, and fracture of the central vent tube. Diametral growth was 1.3 percent. No evidence of gross interaction between CVD tungsten or arc-cast tungsten cladding and the UO2 fuel was observed. Some of the fission gases passed from the fuel cavity to the gas surrounding the fuel specimen via the vent tube and possibly the end-cap weld failure. Whether the UO2 loss rates through the vent tube were within acceptable limits could not be determined in view of the end-cap weld failure.

Collins, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Testing of uranium nitride fuel in T-111 cladding at 1200 K cladding temperature

Two groups of six fuel pins each were assembled, encapsulated, and irradiated in the Plum Brook Reactor. The fuel pins employed uranium mononitride (UN) in a tantalum alloy clad. The first group of fuel pins was irradiated for 1500 hours to a maximum burnup of 0.7-atom-percent uranium. The second group of fuel pins was irradiated for about 3000 hours to a maximum burnup of 1.0-atom-percent uranium. The average clad surface temperature during irradiation of both groups of fuel pins was approximately 1200 K. The postirradiation examination revealed the following: no clad failures or fuel swelling occurred; less than 1 percent of the fission gases escaped from the fuel; and the clad of the first group of fuel pins experienced clad embrittlement whereas the second group, which had modified assembly and fabrication procedures to minimize contamination, had a ductile clad after irradiation.

Rohal, R. G.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Irradiation of TZM: Uranium dioxide fuel pin at 1700 K

A fuel pin clad with TZM and containing solid pellets of uranium dioxide was fission heated in a static helium-cooled capsule at a maximum surface temperature of 1700 K for approximately 1000 hr and to a total burnup of 2.0 percent of the uranium-235. The results of the postirradiation examination indicated: (1) A transverse, intergranular failure of the fuel pin occurred when the fuel pin reached 2.0-percent burnup. This corresponds to 1330 kW-hr/cu cm, where the volume is the sum of the fuel, clad, and void volumes in the fuel region. (2) The maximum swelling of the fuel pin was less than 1.5 percent on the fuel-pin diameter. (3) There was no visible interaction between the TZM clad and the UO2. (4) Irradiation at 1700 K produced a course-grained structure, with an average grain diameter of 0.02 centimeter and with some of the grains extending one-half of the thickness of the clad. (5) Below approximately 1500 K, the irradiation of the clad produced a moderately fine-grained structure, with an average grain diameter of 0.004 centimeter.

Mcdonald, G. E.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Chromosomal damage observed in first postirradiation metaphases of repair-proficient and -deficient cell lines

Investigation of radiation induced damage in mutant strains of mammalian cells which show a defect in the rejoining of DNA double strand breaks provides an unique opportunity to examine the role of double strand breaks and the mechanisms of double strand break rejoining in the production of chromosome aberrations. This is particularly important, because there is increasing evidence that the DNA double strand break is the major lesion responsible for the formation of chromosome aberrations. To address this issue, we studied the induction of chromosome aberrations in xrs-5 cells, an x-ray sensitive strain of a Chinese hamster ovary cell line, which shows a defect in the rejoining of double strand breaks and their wild-type parent CHO-cells. Because radiosensitivity depends strongly on cellular age, the experiments were performed with synchronous cells.

Ritter, S.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Radiation-induced chromosomal instability in BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice: the difference is as clear as black and white

Genomic instability has been proposed to be the earliest step in radiation-induced tumorigenesis. It follows from this hypothesis that individuals highly susceptible to induction of tumors by radiation should exhibit enhanced radiation-induced instability. BALB/c white mice are considerably more sensitive to radiation-induced mammary cancer than C57BL/6 black mice. In this study, primary mammary epithelial cell cultures from these two strains were examined for the "delayed" appearance of chromosomal aberrations after exposure to 137Cs gamma radiation, as a measure of radiation-induced genomic instability. As expected, actively dividing cultures from both strains showed a rapid decline of initial asymmetrical aberrations with time postirradiation. However, after 16 population doublings, cells from BALB/c mice exhibited a marked increase in the frequency of chromatid-type breaks and gaps which remained elevated throughout the time course of the experiment (28 doublings). No such effect was observed for the cells of C57BL/6 mice; after the rapid clearance of initial aberrations, the frequency of chromatid-type aberrations in the irradiated population remained at or near those of nonirradiated controls. These results demonstrate a correlation between the latent expression of chromosomal damage in vitro and susceptibility for mammary tumors, and provide further support for the central role of radiation-induced instability in the process of tumorigenesis.

NASA Discipline Radiation Health↗
NASA NTRS1997

Free Radicals Generated by Ionizing Radiation Signal Nuclear Translocation of p53

The p53 tumor suppressor is a transcription factor that regulates several pathways, which function collectively to maintain the integrity of the genome. Nuclear localization is critical for wild-type function. However, the signals that regulate subcellular localization of p53 have not been identified. Here, we examine the effect of ionizing radiation on the subcellular localization of p53 in two cell lines in which p63 is normally sequestered in the cytoplasm and found that ionizing radiation caused a biphasic translocation response. p53 entered the nucleus 1-2 hours postirradiation (early response), subsequently emerged from the nucleus, and then again entered the nucleus 12-24 hours after the cells had been irradiated (delayed response). These changes in subcellular localization could be completely blocked by the free radical scavenger, WR1065. By comparison, two DNA-damaging agents that do not generate free radicals, mitomycin C and doxorubicin, caused translocation only after 12-24 h of exposure to the drugs, and this effect could not be inhibited by WR1065. Hence, although all three DNA-damaging agents induced relocalization of p53 to the nucleus, only the translocation caused by radiation was sensitive to free radical scavenging. We suggest that the free radicals generated by ionizing radiation can signal p53 translocation to the nucleus.

Martinez, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Auger spectroscopic examination of MgF2-coated Al mirrors before and after UV irradiation

Magnesium fluoride protected Al films were studied since these mirrors are commonly used in astronomical instruments whenever a highly reflecting optical surface is required in the wavelength region from 1100 A to 2000 A. Freshly prepared samples of evaporated Al + 250-A thick MgF2 on glass were analyzed by Auger electron spectroscopy in conjunction with surface erosion by Ar(+) ion bombardment before and after UV irradiation. The analysis showed that a very thin layer of surface contamination and not bulk photolysis in the MgF2 film was reponsible for the irradiation-induced reflectance loss. Postirradiation polishing with a mild calcium carbonate abrasive can restore a mirror's reflectance by removing the photolyzed surface film without disturbing the MgF2 layer.

Heaney, J. B.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Long term effects of low doses of Fe-56 ions on the brain and retina of the mouse - Ultrastructural and behavioral studies

Eight-month-old male C57BL6 mice were exposed without anesthesia to whole-body irradiation in circular holders. The mice were tested for behavioral decrements after 0.5 and 50 rads of Fe particle irradiation at 6 and 12 months postirradiation to obtain long-term results. A standard maze was used, and the animals were timed for completion thereof. A string test also was administered to the mice, testing their ability to grasp and move along a string to safety. The results from animals exposed to 50 rads were significantly different from control results to p = less than 0.001 in both systems of testing. The hippocampus (believed to be the location of environmental interaction in the brain) and the retina were examined for ultrastructural changes. The ultrastructural changes were similar to those found in the Cosmos 782, 936, and Argon experiments. The mouse data indicate that iron particles were able to induce long-term changes in the central nervous system which led to behavioral impairment.

Philpott, Delbert E.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Comparison of repair of DNA double-strand breaks in identical sequences in primary human fibroblast and immortal hamster-human hybrid cells harboring a single copy of human chromosome 11

We have optimized a pulsed-field gel electrophoresis assay that measures induction and repair of double-strand breaks (DSBs) in specific regions of the genome (Lobrich et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92, 12050-12054, 1995). The increased sensitivity resulting from these improvements makes it possible to analyze the size distribution of broken DNA molecules immediately after the introduction of DSBs and after repair incubation. This analysis shows that the distribution of broken DNA pieces after exposure to sparsely ionizing radiation is consistent with the distribution expected from randomly induced DSBs. It is apparent from the distribution of rejoined DNA pieces after repair incubation that DNA ends continue to rejoin between 3 and 24 h postirradiation and that some of these rejoining events are in fact misrejoining events, since novel restriction fragments both larger and smaller than the original fragment are generated after repair. This improved assay was also used to study the kinetics of DSB rejoining and the extent of misrejoining in identical DNA sequences in human GM38 cells and human-hamster hybrid A(L) cells containing a single human chromosome 11. Despite the numerous differences between these cells, which include species and tissue of origin, levels of TP53, expression of telomerase, and the presence or absence of a homologous chromosome for the restriction fragments examined, the kinetics of rejoining of radiation-induced DSBs and the extent of misrejoining were similar in the two cell lines when studied in the G(1) phase of the cell cycle. Furthermore, DSBs were removed from the single-copy human chromosome in the hamster A(L) cells with similar kinetics and misrejoining frequency as at a locus on this hybrid's CHO chromosomes.

NASA Program Biomedical Research and Countermeasur↗
NASA NTRS2001

Cell killing and chromatid damage in primary human bronchial epithelial cells irradiated with accelerated 56Fe ions

We examined cell killing and chromatid damage in primary human bronchial epithelial cells irradiated with high-energy 56Fe ions. Cells were irradiated with graded doses of 56Fe ions (1 GeV/nucleon) accelerated with the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The survival curves for cells plated 1 h after irradiation (immediate plating) showed little or no shoulder. However, the survival curves for cells plated 24 h after irradiation (delayed plating) had a small initial shoulder. The RBE for 56Fe ions compared to 137Cs gamma rays was 1.99 for immediate plating and 2.73 for delayed plating at the D10. The repair ratio (delayed plating/immediate plating) was 1.67 for 137Cs gamma rays and 1.22 for 56Fe ions. The dose-response curves for initially measured and residual chromatid fragments detected by the Calyculin A-mediated premature chromosome condensation technique showed a linear response. The results indicated that the induction frequency for initially measured fragments was the same for 137Cs gamma rays and 56Fe ions. On the other hand, approximately 85% of the fragments induced by 137Cs gamma rays had rejoined after 24 h of postirradiation incubation; the corresponding amount for 56Fe ions was 37%. Furthermore, the frequency of chromatid exchanges induced by gamma rays measured 24 h after irradiation was higher than that induced by 56Fe ions. No difference in the amount of chromatid damage induced by the two types of radiations was detected when assayed 1 h after irradiation. The results suggest that high-energy 56Fe ions induce a higher frequency of complex, unrepairable damage at both the cellular and chromosomal levels than 137Cs gamma rays in the target cells for radiation-induced lung cancers.

NASA Discipline Radiation Health↗