Kang, YH; Chung, JG; Ryu, WS; Park, JY; Joo, KN
With a view of establishing the irradiation test facilities and developing the related technologies for research and development on the fuel area using KMRR (Korea Multipurpose Research Reactor), studies on the characteristics of irradiation test facilites and the specifications of the test section of foreign test reactors were undertaken, and manufacturing technologies for the irradiation test facilities, especially related to the test rod fabrication were piled up. The types of irradiation tests which were usually carried out on fuel elements could be divided into four separate categories, i.e., basic property tests, materials screening tests, prototype development test, and prototype proof tests. And three were kinds of irradiation testing apparatus used to perform the above tests: in-pile loop, capsule, and open basket. The development of an irradiation capsule design for nuclear fuel studies could be divided into five steps: conception of experiment, preliminary planning, selection of experimental facility, selection of temperature control method, and final design. Diffusion bonding between zircaloy-4 and SUS 304 was carried out at 950, 980, and 1030 deg C for up to 60 minutes under vacuum atmosphere, and bonding strength of the bonded couples including test specimens with a bonding angle fo 45 deg and 0 deg was measured through tensile tests. The bonding strength varied from 5.07 to 19.33 kg/mm(sup 2) irrespective of the bonding angles. The optimum results of microdrilling of UO(sub 2) pellets could be obtained when the specimen was drilled half the distance in one direction and the other half in the opposite direction using the triple ripple bits at the revolution rate of 10,000 rpm. On the other hand, grooving was performed using modified low speed saw with diamond blade. Zircaloy-4/SUS 304 couple and SUS 304/SUS 304 couple were bonded by microbrazing at 950, 980 and 1030 deg C for up to 60 minutes. (Abstract Truncated) (Atomindex citation 22:060995)