Outline of the development of nondestructive methods adopted for integrity test of next generation nuclear fuels (N-DeMAIN)

In order to develop the nondestructive analysis (NDA) techniques for next generation fuels, i.e., TRU fuels containing MAs, the Development of Nondestructive Methods Adopted for Integrity Test of Next Generation Nuclear Fuels project has started since October 2014 in Japan. The TRU fuels containing MAs will be used in a fast reactor system to reduce the high-level waste by the transmutation of long-lived minor actinides. It is important to test the integrity of those fuels, however, the conventional techniques would be difficult to apply for the TRU fuels, because they have high background gamma-ray and neutrons. In the project, the neutron resonance transmission analysis is adapted for the identification and quantification of nuclides in the fuels by time-of-flight measurement. In addition, the determination of temperature changes in the fuels based on Doppler-effect and neutron imaging is conducted. By using those NDA techniques, the nuclear and physical properties of the TRU fuels will be obtained, and they will contribute to improve the fuel qualities, then enhance the safety of the next generation nuclear system. (author)