SPHERE: Irradiation of sphere-pac fuel of UPuO2−x containing 3% Americium

AbstractAmericium is a strong contributor to the long term radiotoxicity of high activity nuclear waste. Transmutation by irradiation in nuclear reactors of long-lived nuclides like 241Am is therefore an option for the reduction of radiotoxicity of waste packages to be stored in a repository. The SPHERE irradiation experiment is the latest of a series of European experiments on americium transmutation (e.g. EFTTRA-T4, EFTTRA-T4bis, HELIOS, MARIOS) performed in the HFR (High Flux Reactor). The SPHERE experiment is carried out in the framework of the 4-year project FAIRFUELS of the EURATOM 7th Framework Programme (FP7). During the past years of experimental works in the field of transmutation and tests of innovative nuclear fuels, the release or trapping of helium as well as helium induced fuel swelling have been shown to be the key issues for the design of Am-bearing targets. The main objective of the SPHERE experiment is to study the in-pile behaviour of fuel containing 3% of americium and to compare the behaviour of sphere-pac fuel to pellet fuel, in particular the role of microstructure and temperature on fission gas release (mainly He) and on fuel swelling.The SPHERE experiment is being irradiated since September 2013 in the HFR in Petten (The Netherlands) and is expected to be terminated in spring 2015. The experiment has been designed to last up to 18 reactor cycles (corresponding to 18 months) but may reach its target earlier.This paper discusses the rationale and objective of the SPHERE experiment and provides a general description of its design

MARINE: Irradiation of Sphere-Pac Fuel and Pellets of UO2-x Containing 13% Americium

Americium is a strong contributor to the long term radiotoxicity of high activity nuclear waste. Transmutation by irradiation in nuclear reactors of long-lived nuclides like 241Am is therefore an option for the reduction of radiotoxicity of waste packages to be stored in a repository. The MARINE irradiation experiment is the latest of a series of European experiments on americium transmutation (e.g. EFTTRA-T4, EFTTRA-T4bis, HELIOS, MARIOS, SPHERE) performed in the HFR (High Flux Reactor). The MARINE experiment is carried out in the framework of the 4-year project PELGRIMM of the EURATOM 7th Framework Programme (FP7). During the past years of experimental works in the field of transmutation and tests of innovative nuclear fuels, the release or trapping of helium as well as helium induced fuel swelling have been shown to be the key issues for the design of Am-bearing targets devoted to heterogeneous recycling. MARINE will test the Minor Actinides Bearing Blanket (MABB) fuel concept, comparing sphere-pac fuel performance to that of pellet fuel under similar circumstances, similar to its predecessor SPHERE. The main objective of the MARINE experiment is to study the in-pile behaviour of natural UO2 fuel containing 13 % of americium (compared to MOX fuel containing 3% Am in SPHERE). In particular the role of microstructure and temperature on He and fission gas release as well as on fuel swelling will be addressed. The MARINE experiment will start in 2015 in the HFR in Petten (The Netherlands) and is expected to be terminated in 2016. The experiment has been designed to last up to 15 reactor cycles (corresponding to 15 months) but may reach its target earlier. This paper discusses the rationale and objective of the MARINE experiment and provides a general description of its design which is based on the one previously developed for the SPHERE irradiation now on going in the HFR in the framework of the R&D studies related to MA homogeneous recycling in SFR.JRC.F.4-Innovative Technologies for Nuclear Reactor Safet

SPHERE: Irradiation of sphere-pac fuel of UPuO2 containing 4% Americium

Americium is a strong contributor to the long term radiotoxicity of high activity nuclear waste. Transmutation by irradiation in nuclear reactors of long-lived nuclides like 241Am is, therefore, an option for the reduction of radiotoxicity and residual power of waste packages to be stored in a repository. The SPHERE irradiation experiment is the latest of a series of European experiments on americium transmutation (e.g. EFTTRA-T4, EFTTRA-T4bis, HELIOS, MARIOS). The SPHERE experiment is carried out in the framework of the 4-year project FAIRFUELS of the EURATOM 7th Framework Programme (FP7). During the past years of experimental work in the field of transmutation and tests of innovative nuclear fuel containing americium, the release or trapping of helium as well as swelling has shown to be the key issue for the design of such kinds of target because it may determines the achievable transmutation yield. The main objective of the SPHERE experiment is to study the in-pile behaviour of fuel containing 4 % of americium and to compare the behaviour of sphere-pac fuel to pellet fuel, in particular the role of microstructure and temperature on gas release and on fuel swelling. The SPHERE experiment is being irradiated since September 2013 in the HFR (High Flux Reactor) in Petten (The Netherlands) and is expected to be terminated in spring 2015. The experiment has been designed to last up to 18 reactor cycles (corresponding to 18 months) but may reach its target earlier. This paper discusses the rationale and objective of the SPHERE experiment and provides a general description of its design.JRC.F.4-Innovative Technologies for Nuclear Reactor Safet

The MARINE experiment: Irradiation of sphere-pac fuel and pellets of UO2−x_{2−x} for americium breading blanket concept

International audienceAmericium is a strong contributor to the long term radiotoxicity of high activity nuclear waste.Transmutation by irradiation in nuclear reactors of long-lived nuclides like $^{241}$Am is therefore an option for the reduction of radiotoxicity and heat production of waste packages to be stored in a repository. The MARINE irradiation experiment is the latest of a series of European experiments on americium transmutation (e.g. EFTTRA-T4, EFTTRA-T4bis, HELIOS, MARIOS, SPHERE) performed in the High Flux Reactor (HFR). The MARINE experiment is developed and carried out in the framework of the collaborative research project PELGRIMM of the EURATOM 7th Framework Programme (FP7). During the past years of experimental works in the field of transmutation and tests of innovative nuclear fuels, the release or trapping of helium as well as swelling have been shown to be the key issues for the design of such kind of fuel both as drivers and even more for Am-bearing blanket targets (due to the higher Am contents). The main objective of the MARINE experiment is to study the in-pile behaviour of uranium oxide fuel containing 13% of americium and to compare the behaviour of sphere-pac versus pellet fuel, in particular the role of microstructure and temperature on fission gas release and He on fuel swelling.The MARINE experiment will be irradiated in 2016 in the HFR in Petten (The Netherlands) and is expected to be completed in spring 2017. This paper discusses the rationale and objective of the MARINE experiment and provides a generaldescription of its design for which some innovative features have been adopted