Title: Designing a system to detect leaking in fuel elements in Brazilian Triga research reactor

Authors: Rogerio Rivail Rodrigues; Amir Zacarias Mesquita; Daniel Artur Pinheiro Palma

Addresses: Nuclear Technology Development Centre - CDTN, Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission - CNEN, Campus da UFMG - Pampulha, ZIP Code: 30.123-970, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil ' Nuclear Technology Development Centre - CDTN, Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission - CNEN, Campus da UFMG - Pampulha, ZIP Code: 30.123-970, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil ' Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission - CNEN, Rua Gal Severiano, 90, ZIP Code: 22.290-901, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

Abstract: The Nuclear Technology Development Centre (CDTN) is a research institute administered by the Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN) located in Belo Horizonte/Brazil. The CDTN is equipped with a Triga Mark I nuclear reactor with almost 60 years of operation. Most of its fuel elements are in the core since the first criticality, and corrosion may occur that threatens the integrity of spent fuel claddings. The reactor coolant must be treated and controlled in order to maintain its low electrical conductivity and pH close to neutrality, in order to minimise the corrosion of the reactor components, mainly the fuel elements. The objective of this work is to present the leak monitoring system developed for the verification of possible leaks in the Triga fuel elements based on the sipping test. A correlation was also developed to find the diameter of a hypothetical small cylindrical hole in the fuel cladding as a function of Cs-137 activity values to be measured.

Keywords: research reactor; Triga; sipping; nuclear fuel element; corrosion.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNEST.2018.095691

International Journal of Nuclear Energy Science and Technology, 2018 Vol.12 No.3, pp.239 - 251

Received: 13 Dec 2017
Accepted: 23 Jul 2018
Published online: 16 Oct 2018 *

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