ALFREDO YUUITIRO ABE

Projetos de Pesquisa
Unidades Organizacionais
Cargo

Resultados de Busca

Agora exibindo 1 - 4 de 4
  • Artigo IPEN-doc 26854
    Assessment of high conductivity ceramic fuel concept under normal and accident conditions
    2020 - GOMES, D.S.; ABE, A.; SILVA, A.T.; MUNIZ, R.O.R.; GIOVEDI, C.; MARTINS, M.R.
    After the Fukushima Daiichi accident, the high conductivity ceramic concept fuel has been revisited. The thermal conductivity of uranium dioxide used as nuclear fuel is relatively low, as consequence fuel pellet centerline reaches high temperatures, high fission gas release rate, increase of fuel rod internal pressure reducing the safety thermal margin. Several investigations had been conducted in framework of ATF (Accident Tolerant Fuel) using different additives in ceramic fuel (UO2) in order to enhance thermal conductivity in uranium dioxide pellets. The increase of the thermal conductivity of fuel can reduce the pellet centerline temperature, consequently less fission gas releasing rate and the low risk of fuel melting, hence improving significantly fuel performance under accident conditions. The beryllium oxide (BeO) has high conductivity among other ceramics and is quite compatible with UO2up to 2200°C, at which temperature it forms a eutectic. Moreover, it is compatible with zircaloy cladding, does not react with water, has a good neutronic characteristics (low neutron absorption cross-section, neutron moderation). This work presents a preliminary assessment of high conductivity ceramic concept fuel considering UO2-BeO mixed oxide fuel containing 10 wt% of BeO. The FRAPCON and FRAPTRAN fuel performance codes were conveniently adapted to support the evaluation of UO2-BeO mixed oxide fuel. The thermal and mechanical properties were modified in the codes for a proper and representative simulation of the fuel performance. Theobtainedpreliminary results show lower fuel centerline temperatureswhen compared to standard UO2 fuel, consequently promoting enhancement of safety margins during the operational condition and under LOCA accident scenario.
  • Artigo IPEN-doc 24014
    High density fuels using dispersion and monolithic fuel
    2017 - GOMES, DANIEL S.; SILVA, ANTONIO T.; ABE, ALFREDO Y.; MUNIZ, RAFAEL O.R.; GIOVEDI, CLAUDIA
    Fuel plates used in high-performance research reactors need to be converted to low-enrichment uranium fuel; the fuel option based on a monolithic formulation requires alloys to contain 6 – 10 wt% Mo. In this case, the fuel plates are composed of the metallic alloy U-10Mo surrounded by a thin zirconium layer encapsulated in aluminum cladding. This study reviewed the physical properties of monolithic forms. The constraints produced during the manufacturing process were analyzed and compared to those of dispersed fuel. The bonding process used for dispersion fuels differs from the techniques applied to foil bonding used for pure alloys. The quality of monolithic plates depends on the fabrication method, which usually involves hot isostatic pressing and the thermal annealing effect of residual stress, which degrades the uranium cubic phase. The preservation of the metastable phase has considerable influence on fuel performance. The physical properties of the foil fuel under irradiation are superior to those of aluminum-dispersed fuels. The fuel meat, using zirconium as the diffusion barrier, prevents the interaction layer from becoming excessively thick. The problem with dispersed fuel is breakaway swelling with a medium fission rate. It has been observed that the fuel dispersed in aluminum was minimized in monolithic forms. The pure alloys exhibited a suitable response from a rate at least twice as much as the fission rate of dispersions. The foils can support fissile material concentration combined with a reduced swelling rate.
  • Artigo IPEN-doc 24013
    Simulation of accident-tolerant U3Si2 fuel using FRAPCON code
    2017 - GOMES, DANIEL S.; SILVA, ANTONIO T.; ABE, ALFREDO Y.; MUNIZ, RAFAEL O.R.; GIOVEDI, CLAUDIA
    The research on accident-tolerant fuels (ATFs) increased after the Fukushima event. This benefitted risk management in nuclear operations. In this investigation, the physical properties of the materials being developed for the ATF program were compared with those of the standard UO2–Zr fuel system. The research efforts in innovative fuel design include rigorous characterization of thermal, mechanical, and chemical assessment, with the objectives of making the burnup cycle longer, increasing power density, and improving safety performance. Fuels must reach a high uranium density—above that supported by UO2—and possess coating that exhibits better oxidation resistance than Zircaloy. The uranium density and thermal conductivity of ATFs, such as U3Si2, UN, and UC, is higher than that of UO2; their combination with advanced cladding provides possible fuel–cladding options. An ideal combination of fuel and cladding must increase fuel performance in loss-of-coolant scenarios. The disadvantages of U3Si2, UN, and UC are their swelling rates, which are higher than that of UO2. The thermal conductivities of ATFs are approximately four times higher than that of UO2. To prevent the generation of hydrogen due to oxidation of zirconium-based alloys in contact with steam, cladding options, such as ferritic alloys, were studied. It was verified that FeCrAl alloys and SiC provide better response under severe conditions because of their thermophysical properties. The findings of this study indicate that U3Si2 and the FeCrAl fuel cladding concept should replace UO2–Zr as the fuel system of choice.
  • Artigo IPEN-doc 24012
    Modification of fuel performance code to evaluate iron-based alloy behavior under loca scenario
    2017 - GIOVEDI, CLAUDIA; ABE, ALFREDO; MUNIZ, RAFAEL O.R.; GOMES, DANIEL de S.; SILVA, ANTONIO T. e; MARTINS, MARCELO R.
    Accident tolerant fuels (ATF) has been studied since the Fukushima Daiichi accident in the research efforts to develop new materials which under accident scenarios could maintain the fuel rod integrity for a longer period compared to the cladding and fuel system usually utilized in Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR). The efforts have been focused on new materials applied as cladding, then iron-base alloys appear as a possible candidate. The aim of this paper is to implement modifications in a fuel performance code to evaluate the behavior of ironbased alloys under Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) scenario. For this, initially the properties related to the thermal and mechanical behavior of iron-based alloys were obtained from the literature, appropriately adapted and introduced in the fuel performance code subroutines. The adopted approach was step by step modifications, where different versions of the code were created. The assessment of the implemented modification was carried out simulating an experiment available in the open literature (IFA-650.5) related to zirconium-based alloy fuel rods submitted to LOCA conditions. The obtained results for the iron-based alloy were compared to those obtained using the regular version of the fuel performance code for zircaloy-4. The obtained results have shown that the most important properties to be changed are those from the subroutines related to the mechanical properties of the cladding. The results obtained have shown that the burst is observed at a longer time for fuel rods with iron-based alloy, indicating the potentiality of this material to be used as cladding with ATF purposes.