Fusion Programme - ENEA - Fusione

Fission TechnologyENEA organised the IV Workshop on Materials for HLM-Cooled Reactors and Related Technologies, heldin Rome on 21-23 May 2007. About 90 researchers from 16 different countries participated in the event,with 20% of the participants coming from outside Europe. The technical programme consisted of invitedplenary and specific technical sessions, organised in eight areas of technical interest (system design andcomponent development; corrosion and structure protection; mechanical behaviour in HLM;physical/chemical properties of HLM and impurity control; oxygen control; irradiation in liquid metals;thermohydraulics; safety and procedures). Around 50 contributions were presented, and are now allavailable on the official VELLA website (at http://192.107.58.30/HLMWORK.htm ). The final proceedingsof the workshop will be published in a special issue of the Journal of Nuclear Materials at the beginning of2008.Analysis of worldwide research activities on HLM technologies for nuclear applications has been started inorder to find commonalities and synergies among the various programmes, increase technical cooperationand maximise the profit of the ongoing activities.The first Transnational Access (TA) call has been launched, supporting two accesses to the infrastructures,one of which to the ENEA Brasimone facility CHEOPE III, and two human mobility actions. An instituteexternal to the VELLA consortium has also participated in the activities under the TA. This is a first step increating a large European common laboratory where researchers from every part of the Community havethe possibility to perform their test campaigns.ENEA also carried out studies on oxygen control, purification, HLM pump development andthermohydraulics in the framework of the Joint Research Activities (JRAs).Innovative fuelsND2Reactorcentre61A major accomplishment in the innovative “uranium-free” inert matrix and thoria fuelR&D, which was started about ten years ago with the aim of finding a more efficient,non-proliferant way to burn plutonium in LWRs and also in fast neutron systems, wasthe post-test analysis, by means of the fuel rodperformance Transuranus code, of the IFA-652experiment in Halden, discharged from the reactorat the end of 2005. The test rig included six fuel rodsND3(fig. 8.40), two for each of the three oxide fuel types(table 8.VI): pure inert matrix (IM), inert matrix-thoria2(IMT) and thoria (T). The inert matrix wascalcia–stabilised zirconia (CSZ) and the fissile phase393% highly enriched uranium (HEU) oxide. All thefuel rods, with the same diameter as those in PWRs,zircaloy cladding and a 500-mm active length, were4equipped with fuel thermocouples, pressure52007 Progress ReportND4IM (Inert matrix fuel)T (Thoria fuel)IMT (Inert matrix-thoria fuel) NDi Neutron detectorFig. 8.40 - IFA-652 test rig (cross section)Table 8.VI – IFA-652 fuelsFuelIM(rods 1-2)IMT(rods 3-6)T(rods 4-5)Density, g×cm -3 5.637 6.995 8.180CSZ, (wt%) 81 45 -Thoria (wt%) - 39.2 88.3HEU (wt%) 19 15.8 11.7136