DEVELOPMENT OF FRESH FUEL PACKAGING FOR ATR DEMONSTRATION REACTOR

Japan had aimed to develop an Advanced Thermal Demonstration Reactor (A TOR) in parallel with a Fast Breeder Prototype Reactor \" MONJU\", in order to secure some of its long-tenn energy for the future. A TOR bad been developed based on the successful results of the prototype ATR \"FUGEN\" developed by semi-independent technology. However, the electric power companies abandoned the development plan of ATDR because it was disadvantageous economically. In August, 1995 the Atomic Energy Commission of Japan decided to abandon the development plan of ATDR. The Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (PNC) bad carried out a design of a packaging to transport fresh mixl:d oxide (M OX) fuel assemblies for the A TOR, till the decision of abandoning of the development plan of A TOR. The packaging bad been required to contain as many assemblies as possible to transport them efficiently, since about 600 assemblies bad to be transported as an initial core for A TOR, and the mass of plutonium metal in a fuel assembly for A TOR was 5 kg (1.8 times higher than 2.8 kg of FUGEN). The packaging, having advanced materials for light-weight shock absorbing and high-performance neutron shielding, is designed as Type B(U) fissile package. The packaging bas made it possible to contain a maximum of eight assemblies, and it is the largest fresh M OX fuel packaging developed in Japan. Demonstration tests were performed using two prototype packaging;. As the results, the integrity of the packaging and the validity of the design technique were confirmed. This paper describes the summary of the packaging specifications and the demonstration tests.