Development of long-term irradiation testing technology at HANARO

• Published in: Nuclear engineering and technology Vol. 53; no. 1; pp. 344 - 350
• Main Authors: Choo, Kee Nam, Yang, Seong Woo, Park, Seng Jae, Shin, Yoon Taeg
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: Optimized design; Long-tern irradiation testing; 10 dpa; HANARO; Irradiation capsule
• ISSN: 1738-5733; 2234-358X

As the High Flux Advanced Neutron Application Reactor (HANARO) has been recently required to support new R&D relevant to future nuclear systems requiring a much higher neutron fluence, the development of irradiation capsule technology for long-term irradiation testing was performed in three steps (3, 5, 10 dpa). At first, several design improvements of a standard capsule were suggested based on a failure analysis of the capsule and successfully applied for irradiation testing at HANARO at up to eight reactor operation cycles equivalent to 3 dpa. Based on a schematic stress analysis of the vulnerable parts of the previous capsule, an optimized design of the capsule was made for 5 dpa irradiation. The newly designed capsule was safely out-pile tested up to 450 days, which was equivalent to 5 dpa irradiation in the reactor. The test results were submitted to the Reactor Safety Review Committee of HANARO and irradiation testing for 5 dpa was approved. The capsule was also successfully out-pile tested to evaluate the possibility of irradiation testing for 10 dpa. For a higher neutron fluence exceeding 10 dpa, new capsule technologies, including a new capsule that has a different bottom design and neutron flux boosting capsule, were also suggested.