Coated Zirconium Alloy Fuel Rod Cladding for Accident Tolerance

在2011年日本东部大地震、由此引发的海啸以及随后福岛第一核电站综合设施遭到破坏之后，提高压水堆的事故容忍度成为一个认真讨论的话题。核电反应堆的安全一直是运营商的首要任务，包括先进材料和核燃料在内的技术的持续改进，仍然是该行业成功的核心。几十年的研究和连续运行相结合，在技术上取得了稳步的进步，并产生了关于压水堆(PWR)燃料在正常和事故条件下性能的广泛的数据、经验和知识基础。现代轻水反应堆(LWR)基于成熟的技术，具有良好的安全和运行记录。由于目前的UO2-锆合金燃料系统满足所有性能和安全要求，事故容错燃料(ATF)开发的目标是寻找替代燃料系统技术，以进一步提高安全性。为ATF提出的一个主要解决方案是在现有的锆合金覆层基础上增加一层铬涂层，在现有知识的基础上进一步提高性能。本项目的目的是更好地了解在锆合金覆层上制备铬涂层的不同方法的比较效益，特别是在高温下这种ATF覆层的机械性能。该项目由西屋电气(燃料供应商)和法国电力公司(运营商)共同支持，总部主要设在曼彻斯特，但将包括在法国雷纳尔迪雷斯的法国电力公司的实验设施进行实验的机会。它也是Midas计划的一部分，使之能够与从事相关项目的广泛研究人员进行互动。

Following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, resulting tsunami, and subsequent damage to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant complex, enhancing the accident tolerance of PWRs became a topic of serious discussion. The safety of the nuclear power reactors has always been a top priority for operators and continual improvement of technology, including advanced materials and nuclear fuels, remains central to the industry's success. Decades of research combined with continual operation have produced steady advancements in technology and have yielded an extensive base of data, experience, and knowledge on pressure water reactor (PWR) fuel performance under both normal and accident conditions. Modern light water reactors (LWRs) are based on mature technology and have an excellent safety and operational record. Since the current UO2 - zirconium alloy fuel system meets all performance and safety requirements the goal of accident tolerant fuel (ATF) development is to identify alternative fuel system technologies to further enhance the safety. A leading solution proposed for ATF is the addition of a chromium coating to existing zirconium alloy cladding, further enhancing performance while building on existing knowledge. The aim of this project is to gain a better understanding of the comparative benefits of different methods of producing Cr coatings on Zr alloy cladding, in terms of the mechanical performance of this ATF cladding particularly at elevated temperatures. The project is jointly supported by Westinghouse (fuel vendor) and EDF (operator), based primarily in Manchester but will include the opportunity to perform experiments at EDF's experimental facility in Les Renardières, France. It is also part of MIDAS program, enabling interaction with a wide range of researchers working on related projects.