| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2025 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Microstructural, Mechanical, and Chemical Behavior of Solid Nuclear Fuel and Fuel-Cladding Interface II
|
| Presentation Title |
Pebble Integrity in Action: Robust Testing for Safe Refueling |
| Author(s) |
Assel Aitkaliyeva, Mitchell Mika, Anne Campbell |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Assel Aitkaliyeva |
| Abstract Scope |
During refueling of pebble bed reactors, each spherical fuel element, referred to as fuel pebbles, is dropped multiple times from a considerable height into and out of the pebble bed core, which raises the questions: “What is the mechanical integrity of the pebbles?”; “How do we know that a dropped pebble can be put back into the reactor?”; and “How can we quickly assess pebble integrity outside of laboratory settings?”. To answer these questions, we developed a new and robust testing approach that allows for evaluating a large number of samples and can be easily adapted to use on site. We will discuss the design of a drop test tower and the results from the tests performed on graphite pebbles as surrogates for fuel pebbles. Pebbles were dropped from several heights onto different surfaces, including other pebbles, concrete, and metal, and characterized using a combination of ultrasound and X-ray tomography. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Nuclear Materials, Mechanical Properties, Characterization |