Plutonium fuel research facility for advanced LMFBR fuel

For evaluating the feasibility of advanced fuels such as carbides, carbonitrides and nitrides, JAERI has built a new Plutonium Fuel Research Facility at the O-arai site in Jan. 1974. The total floor space is about 1,500 m². Most of equipments and glove boxes have been made by the end of 1976. The glove boxes in which Ar gas is circulated, are used for preparing the fuel pellets. On the other hand, the ordinary air atmosphere glove boxes are used for ceramography, X-ray diffraction, chemical analysis and measuring physico-chemical properties. The pressure regulation of the former glove boxes is more troublesome than the latter. In order to obtain easy handling and to keep the negative pressure, two types of the pressure control device are equipped on Ar gas atmosphere glove box; One is the proportional-integration control device and the other the open-close control device. The limit of pressure control is -30±20 mm H₂O. The remaining impurities are maintained less than 2 ppm oxygen and 3 ppm water. Various kinds of safety equipment for Pu handling are also installed, including confinement, criticality, radiation exposure and physical protection. (auth.)