Повреждения топлива ядерных реакторов с водяным охлаждением. Доклады технического совещания МАГАТЭ.
Fuel failure in water reactors: Causes and mitigation
Proceedings of a Technical Meeting held in Bratislava, Slovakia, 17–21 June 2002
IAEA, VIENNA, 2003
IAEA-TECDOC-1345 ISBN 92–0–101703–0 ISSN 1011–4289
Printed by the IAEA in Austria
At the invitation of the Government of Slovakia and in response to a proposal by the IAEA
Technical Working Group on Water Reactor Fuel Performance and Technology (TWGFPT),
the IAEA convened a Technical Meeting on Fuel Failure in Water Reactors: Causes and
Mitigation in Bratislava, Slovakia from 17 to 21 June 2002. The meeting was hosted by the
Nuclear Regulatory Authority and VUJE Trnava, Inc. Engineering, Design and Research
Organization.
For many years, the IAEA has been closely involved in the analysis of nuclear fuel
performance, basic fuel failure causes and failure mechanisms in water power reactors. The
IAEA conducted a Technical Committee Meeting on Fuel Failure in Normal Operation of
Water Reactors: Experience, Mechanisms and Management in 1992 in Dimitrovgrad, Russian
Federation (IAEA-TECDOC-709), conducted a study on fuel failures and published Technical
Reports Series No. 388, Review on Fuel Failures in Water Cooled Reactors, in 1998 and
conducted a survey on fuel failures in water cooled power reactors from 1995–1998
(CANDUs, BWRs, PWRs and WWERs) in 2000. The objective of this meeting was to
analyse and discuss utility and fuel vendor experience in fuel failure cause identification and
on implemented remedies to reduce the number of fuel failures and/or to mitigate fuel failure
impact on NPP operation.
Fifty-three specialists in fuel design, fabrication and operation from 18 countries took part in
the meeting in order to gather and discuss existing knowledge of the subject and identify the
need for further efforts. Twenty-six papers were presented in five sessions covering
experience with recent fuel failure events and their mitigation, and the current knowledge of
fuel failure mechanisms in light water cooled power reactors. The most frequently observed
events included grid-to-rod fretting failures in PWRs, severe secondary failures, especially the
long axial splits and circumferential fractures observed in BWRs, axial offset anomalies in
PWRs and some others. During recent years fuel performance in water-cooled power reactors
has improved significantly since most early problems have been solved. Fuel failure rates are
now at a low level ( 10-5 or 10 ppm) and continue to be reduced. However, fuel failure has
remained a very important issue for NPP operation and economics.
The IAEA wishes to thank all the participants for their contribution to the meeting and to this
publication, especially V. Petenyi of VUJE Trnava, Inc. Engineering, Design and Research
Organization who co-ordinated the work of the local organizational committee. The IAEA
officer responsible for this publication was V. Onoufriev of the Division of Nuclear Fuel
Cycle and Waste Technology.
