Fission Product Monitoring System Research Articles

Fission gas monitoring for the AGR-5/6/7 experiment

The AGR-5/6/7 test is a fueled multiple-capsule experiment currently being irra- diated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). AGR-5/6/7 is the fourth and last experiment in the “AGR-experiment” series which is being performed and funded by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the INL Advanced Reactor Technologies (ART) program. To derive isotopic release-to-birth ratio’s, the fission gas measured at the Fission Product Monitoring System (FPMS) must be corrected for decay during the transport from the constantly-irradiated fuel capsule to the FPMS measurement location. The decay time is dependent on the capsule effluent flow rate and transport volume. Capsule effluent flow rates are measured and recorded into the ATR Distributed Control System (DCS). Therefore, only the capsule specific transport volumes are needed for accurate transport decay corrections. This paper contains a summary of the AGR-5/6/7 experiment test train, details of the leadout flow experiment, the process of obtaining the short lived gaseous fission product data for use in determining the transport volumes and the AGR-5/6/7 transport volumes that will be used to calculate the capsule specific isotopic release activities and preliminary release-to-birth ratio’s for the AGR-5/6/7 experiment.

Analysis of fission gas release-to-birth ratio data from the AGR irradiations

A series of advanced gas reactor (AGR) irradiation tests is being conducted in the advanced test reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in support of development and qualification of tristructural isotropic (TRISO) fuel used in the High temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR). Each AGR test consists of multiple independent capsules containing fuel compacts placed in a graphite cylinder shrouded by a steel shell. These capsules are instrumented with thermocouples (TC) embedded in the graphite enabling temperature control. For AGR-1, the first US irradiation of modern TRISO fuel completed in 2009, there were no particle failures detected. For AGR-2, a few exposed kernels existed in the fuel compacts based upon quality control data. For the AGR-3/4 experiment, particle failures in all capsules were expected because of the use of designed-to-fail (DTF) fuel particles whose kernels are identical to the driver fuel kernels and whose coatings are designed to fail under irradiation. The release-rate-to-birth-rate ratio (R/B) for each of krypton and xenon isotopes is calculated from release rates measured by the germanium detectors used in the AGR fission product monitoring (FPM) system installed downstream from each irradiated capsule. Birth rates are calculated based on the fission power in the experiment and fission product generation models. Thus, this R/B is a measure of the ability of fuel particle coating layers and compact matrix to retain fission gas atoms preventing their release into the sweep gas flow. The major factors that govern gaseous diffusion and release processes are found to be fuel material diffusion coefficient, temperature, and isotopic decay constant. To compare the release behavior among the AGR capsules and historic experiments, the R/B per failed particle is used. HTGR designers use this parameter in their fission product behavior models. For the U.S. TRISO fuel, a regression analysis is performed to establish functional relationships between R/B per failed particle of selected noble gas isotopes and temperature. The effect of isotopic half-life is also obtained from the data. To reduce measurement uncertainty of the release rate, the krypton and xenon isotopes selected for regression analysis have a short enough half-life to achieve equilibrium in the capsule, but are also long enough to provide a measurable signal in the FPM detector. The impact of uncertainty of the estimated number of failed particles in each capsule is also examined. This study found that R/B values for AGR test fuel are comparable to R/B obtained in historic tests. The correlation with isotopic half-life is very stable with time indicating no strong influence of burnup on release. The correlation can be used by reactor designers to estimate fission gas release from postulated failed fuel in HTGR cores.

The effect of birthrate granularity on the release-to-birth ratio for the AGR-1 in-core experiment

The AGR-1 Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) tristructural-isotropic-particle fuel experiment underwent 13 irradiation intervals from December 2006 until November 2009 within the Idaho National Laboratory Advanced Test Reactor in support of the Next Generation Nuclear Power Plant program. During this multi-year experiment, release-to-birth rate ratios were computed at the end of each operating interval to provide information about fuel performance. Fission products released during irradiation were tracked daily by the Fission Product Monitoring System using 8-h measurements. Birth rate calculated by MCNP with ORIGEN for as-run conditions were computed at the end of each irradiation interval. Each time step in MCNP provided neutron flux, reaction rates and AGR-1 compact composition, which were used to determine birth rate using ORIGEN. The initial birth-rate data, consisting of four values for each irradiation interval at the beginning, end, and two intermediate times, were interpolated to obtain values for each 8-h activity. The problem with this method is that any daily changes in heat rates or perturbations, such as shim control movement or core/lobe power fluctuations, would not be reflected in the interpolated data and a true picture of the system would not be presented. At the conclusion of the AGR-1 experiment, great efforts were put forth to compute daily birthrates, which were reprocessed with the 8-h release activity. The results of this study are presented in this paper.

Fission product monitoring of TRISO coated fuel for the advanced gas reactor-1 experiment

The US Department of Energy has embarked on a series of tests of TRISO coated particle reactor fuel intended for use in the Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) as part of the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) program. The AGR-1 TRISO fuel experiment, currently underway, is the first in a series of eight fuel tests planned for irradiation in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) located at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The AGR-1 experiment reached a peak compact averaged burnup of 9% FIMA with no known TRISO fuel particle failures in March 2008. The burnup goal for the majority of the fuel compacts is to have a compact averaged burnup greater than 18% FIMA and a minimum compact averaged burnup of 14% FIMA. At the INL the TRISO fuel in the AGR-1 experiment is closely monitored while it is being irradiated in the ATR. The effluent monitoring system used for the AGR-1 fuel is the Fission Product Monitoring System (FPMS). The FPMS is a valuable tool that provides near real-time data indicative of the AGR-1 test fuel performance and incorporates both high-purity germanium (HPGe) gamma-ray spectrometers and sodium iodide [NaI(Tl)] scintillation detector-based gross radiation monitors. To quantify the fuel performance, release-to-birth ratios ( R/ B's) of radioactive fission gases are computed. The gamma-ray spectra acquired by the AGR-1 FPMS are analyzed and used to determine the released activities of specific fission gases, while a dedicated detector provides near-real time count rate information. Isotopic build up and depletion calculations provide the associated isotopic birth rates. This paper highlights the features of the FPMS, encompassing the equipment, methods and measures that enable the calculation of the release-to-birth ratios. Some preliminary results from the AGR-1 experiment are also presented.

Design of an Online, Multispectrometer Fission Product Monitoring System (FPMS) to Support Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) Fuel Testing and Qualification in the Advanced Test Reactor

The U.S. Department of Energy is embarking on a series of tests of tristructural isotropic (TRISO) coated-particle reactor fuel for the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR). As one part of this fuel development program, a series of eight (8) fuel irradiation tests are planned for the Idaho National Laboratory's (INLs) advanced test reactor (ATR). The first test in this series (AGR-1) will incorporate six separate capsules irradiated simultaneously, each containing about 51,000 TRISO-coated fuel particles supported in a graphite matrix and continuously swept with inert gas during irradiation. The effluent gas from each of the six capsules must be independently monitored in near real time and the activity of various fission gas nuclides determined and reported. A set of seven heavily-shielded, high-purity germanium (HPGe) gamma-ray spectrometers and sodium iodide [NaI(Tl)] scintillation detector-based total radiation detectors have been designed and are being configured and tested for use during the AGR-1 experiment. The AGR-1 test specification requires that the fission product measurement system (FPMS) have sufficient sensitivity to detect the fission gas release due to failure of a single coated fuel particle and sufficient range to allow it to ldquocountrdquo multiple (up to 250) successive particle failures. This paper describes the design and expected performance of the AGR-1 FPMS.