Post-irradiation examinations (PIEs) of nuclear power plant fuel
The Reactor Fuel Examination Facility (RFEF)
◎ Purpose of the facility
This facility performs post-irradiation examinations (PIEs) on light water reactor (LWR) spent fuel and materials to evaluate the safety and reliability.
◎ Completion year of construction
1978
◎ Features of the facility
RFEF is one of the largest hot laboratories in Japan, where PIEs can be conducted using spent fuel assemblies. PIEs of 20 fuel assemblies (PWR: 8, BWR: 5, and ATR: 7) have been performed since the completion of the facility’s construction. Investigations into the causes of nuclear power plant incidents have also been performed at RFEF.
◎ Equipment
The facility was designed for the usage of nuclear fuel materials and radioisotopes include the following:
| Pool | 1 |
| βγ concrete cells | 6 |
| βγ lead cells | 3 |
| αγ concrete cells | 2 |
| αγ lead cells | 2 |
A view of the facility
Operating room
◎ Main Examination Items
| Pool | Loading in/out of fuel assembly and rod, Visual observations |
| βγ concrete No. 1 cell | Visual inspection, Dimensional measurement, γ-Scanning |
| βγ concrete No. 2 cell | X-ray radiography, Eddy current testing, Oxide layer thickness measurement, Puncture tests |
| βγ concrete No. 3 cell |
Disassembly, Reassembly, Rod cutting, Defueling, Rod refabrication |
| βγ concrete No. 4 cell | Tensile and burst tests, Annealing tests of pellet |
| βγ concrete No. 5 cell | LOCA Quench tests |
| βγ concrete No. 6 cell | Macro observations, Preparation of metallography specimens |
| βγ lead No. 1 cell | Metallography |
| βγ lead No. 2 cell | SEM/EPMA |
| βγ lead No. 3 cell | X-ray diffractometry, Ultra-micro hardness tests |
| αγ concrete No. 1 cell | Visual inspection, Dimensional measurement, Puncture tests, Density measurement |
| αγ concrete No. 2 cell | Cutting, Resin mounting, Preparation of metallography specimens, Ultra-micro hardness tests |
| αγ lead No. 1 cell | SEM/EPMA |
| αγ lead No. 2 cell | Metallography |
| Examination Room etc. | Thermal diffusivity measurement, gas analysis, SEM |
Visual inspection apparatus for the fuel assembly
Electron Probe Microanalyzer (EPMA)
