Book Description

This paper discusses fission product release from light-water-reactor-type fuel rods to the coolant loop during design basis accident tests. One of the tests was a power-cooling-mismatch test in which a single fuel rod was operated in film boiling beyond failure. Other tests discussed include reactivity initiated accident (RIA) tests, in which the fuel rods failed as a result of power bursts that produced radial-average peak fuel enthalpies ranging from 250 to 350 cal/g. One of the RIA tests used two previously irradiated fuel rods. On-line gamma spectroscopic measurements of short-lived fission products, and important aspects of fission product behavior observed during the tests, are discussed. Time-dependent release fractions for short-lived fission products are compared with release fractions suggested by: the Reactor Safety Study; NRC Regulatory Guides; and measurements from the Three Mile Island accident. Iodine behavior observed during the tests is discussed, and fuel powdering is identified as a source of particulate fission product activity, the latter of which is neglected for most accident analyses.