AREVA Donates Equipment to Examine Used Nuclear Fuel

May 22, 2006

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The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) expanded its spent nuclear fuel testing capabilities with the help of state-of-the-art eddy current measurement equipment donated and installed by AREVA Inc. This equipment allows the INL to non-destructively evaluate the structural performance of nuclear fuel cladding, to help extend fuel life.

The eddy current measurement equipment measures electrical current induced when a conductor is placed in a region where there is a change in magnetic flux. This non-destructive testing can detect material defects and measure the oxide layer thickness on certain specimens. In this case, the specimens are spent fuel rods. The Eddy Current Measurement System was installed in the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF) at the INL desert site.

"Corrosion performance is one of the limiting parameters or qualities of a fuel rod. We're characterizing the way this fuel behaves at very high burnup. The fuel rod is licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for use to a certain burnup or amount of irradiation," said Bruce Hilton, the principle investigator for commercial fuels work at INL.

Extending the life of nuclear fuel has economic and environmental benefits. Utilities can purchase fewer fuel assemblies to power their reactors if a longer lifetime can be justified. Using fewer fuel assemblies means less spent fuel for storage and/or disposal. The tests performed at the INL provide data essential for licensing the fuel with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

Source: Idaho National Laboratory (INL).