Search results for "nuclear fuel"

Perceptions of justice influencing community acceptance of spent nuclear fuel disposal : A case study in two Finnish nuclear communities

2019

Final disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from nuclear power plants (NPPs) is an ethical issue with implications within and across generations. We address this issue from the perspective of nuclear communities that host nuclear waste disposal sites. These are primarily the communities that face injustice due to the potential radiological risks. A resident survey (n = 454) was conducted in two Finnish nuclear communities, i.e. Eurajoki and Pyhäjoki, that are being considered as alternative sites for a second repository for SNF. The nuclear waste management (NWM) company Posiva is already building a repository in Eurajoki, the first in Finland. These communities are in different stages of th…

Real time monitoring of water level and temperature in storage fuel pools through optical fibre sensors

2017

AbstractWe present an innovative architecture of a Rayleigh-based optical fibre sensor for the monitoring of water level and temperature inside storage nuclear fuel pools. This sensor, able to withstand the harsh constraints encountered under accidental conditions such as those pointed-out during the Fukushima-Daiichi event (temperature up to 100 °C and radiation dose level up to ~20 kGy), exploits the Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry technique to remotely monitor a radiation resistant silica-based optical fibre i.e. its sensing probe. We validate the efficiency and the robustness of water level measurements, which are extrapolated from the temperature profile along the fibre length, …

Study of the fuel/clad bonding of pressurized water reactors fuel rods

2017

Durability and integrity of materials used in nuclear power plants is a continuous concern of the nuclear power plant owners and developers. During the fuel irradiation in pressurised water reactors (PWR), the whole fuel-clad assembly is subjected to several irradiation-induced modifications. In particular, the fuel element expansion concomitant to the cladding creeping, leads to the contacting of both materials, allowing the oxidation of the inner side of the clad, locally at first, then tending to affect the overall cladding inner surface. At high burnup, a bonding of the fuel periphery with the metallic cladding can be observed, forming the fuel-clad bonding phenomenon, which conditions …

Physical, chemical and mechanical evolution of the fuel-cladding interface in irradiated PWR fuel rods

2022

During the fuel irradiation in nuclear reactor, the fuel-cladding assembly is exposed to several irradiation-induced modifications. The fuel swelling coupled with cladding creep leads to a contact between the fuel and the cladding. The oxygen transport from the UO2 fuel to the zirconium layer induces progressively the Zr-cladding oxidation. This oxidation is initially local with the formation of islets. Then, with the increasing burnup of the fuel, it conducts to a continuous layer of about 8-µm thickness, localized at the fuel-cladding interface. At high burnup, zirconia growths anchor themselves in the periphery of the fuel (which is restructured) leading to pellet/cladding interlocking. …

The socio-economic and communication challenges of spent nuclear fuel management in Finland

2010

Abstract One of the key factors behind the expansion of nuclear energy policy in Finland is nuclear waste management. As in many countries, nuclear waste management agencies are still struggling with the siting of intermediate and low level nuclear waste management facilities, in Finland Posiva, the nuclear waste company owned by the two nuclear power utilities Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) and Fortum Power and Heat (FPH), has been excavating a underground characterization facility since 2004 in the Olkiluoto site in the municipality of Eurajoki. The facility under construction is meant to be for a part of the final repository for disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF). The site selection process …

Validation of a method for neutron dosimetry and spectrometry using neutron activation of metal discs

2009

A technique for neutron dosimetry and spectrometry based on neutron activation of different metal discs has been studied. After exposure to a neutron field, the radionuclides produced in the discs are detected using low-level gamma-ray spectrometry and the neutron spectrum is obtained using a spectrum unfolding technique. In order to validate the method, irradiation was performed in a well-characterised (252)Cf neutron reference field. Furthermore, the detector was used to determine the neutron fluence rate and spectrum at a storage place for MOX nuclear fuel. The results of the two measurements are reported and discussed.

Community divided : adaptation and aversion towards the spent nuclear fuel repository in Eurajoki and its neighbouring municipalities

2010

Does technical risk dialogue entail socioeconomic valuation? : The case of scientific dispute over copper corrosion in a spent nuclear fuel disposal …

2016

Among the proponents of nuclear power, the project for the safe and secure disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in Finland is often deemed as a success story. Opponents have had difficulties getting publicity for their claims about the risks of the project. Their most powerful arguments have been mostly ethical, but on technical issues the opponents have been in a weaker position than the proponents. However, recently the risk of corrosion in oxygen-free water has become subject to scientific controversy, possibly threatening even the realisation of the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel. In Sweden, this issue has been intensively debated since 2007, but only recently has this debate take…

Is there a Nordic model of final disposal of spent nuclear fuel? Governance insights from Finland and Sweden

2017

This paper explores citizen participation in Swedish and Finnish regulatory processes for final disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF). Finland and Sweden are considered the most advanced worldwide in term of SNF disposal plans. Our aim is to analyze the institutional waste management frameworks, focusing on the role of civil society organizations (CSOs); how lay-people and civil society organizations have been able to participate and contribute to radioactive waste licensing processes; and the nature of radioactive waste risk debates. We review official documents of the waste companies and nuclear safety authorities, plus information from civil society organizations and laypeople. Our theore…