A Comparative Analysis of CABRI CIP0-1 and NSRR VA-2 Reactivity Initiated Accident tests

Titre du congrès :EUROSAFE 2007 Ville du congrès :Berlin Date du congrès :05/11/2007

Abstract: Zirlo™ is an improved fuel cladding material that was developed to accommodate constraints associated with increasing burn-ups in a more severe duty operation. The behavior of Zirlo™ irradiated above 75 GWd/t under RIA conditions was studied in CABRI CIP0-1 and NSRR VA-2 tests. The samples were initially similar but VA-2 failed at relatively low enthalpy whereas CIP0-1 did not fail. Because test conditions were different in terms of initial temperature, coolant nature and power pulse width, it is necessary to use a transient fuel code to compare the two results. Using SCANAIR and CLARIS it was shown that the concentration of hydrogen precipitates at the temperature of the test is of primary importance to assess both experiments in a consistent manner. The analysis demonstrated that room temperature is a testing condition much more severe than that expected at typical PWR conditions.