651-T1-TM-42785
INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY
TECHNICAL MEETING
“IN-PILE TESTING AND INSTRUMENTATION FOR DEVELOPMENT OF
GENERATION-IV FUELS AND MATERIALS”
21-24 August 2012
Halden, Norway
INFORMATION SHEET
I.
BACKGROUND
The purpose of the meeting is to provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of the
progress in methods and technologies used for the irradiation testing of nuclear fuel achieved
since the last IAEA meeting in the area held in 2007. Emphasis will be placed on advanced
techniques applied for the understanding of high burnup fuel behaviour of water cooled power
reactors, but the meeting will also be open for discussion of testing techniques applied or to be
developed specifically for new fuel and structural materials considered for Generation IV
(GIF) systems. These reactors require development, qualification, testing and deployment of
improved and innovative nuclear fuel and structural materials with very high radiation
resistance, corrosion/erosion and other key operational properties. At present, a major effort in
the area has been made on systems with sodium cooled fast reactors, and 2 more FR designs
(lead and gas-cooled) were selected within GIF. That is why presentations on fast neutron fuel
and structural materials testing are welcome.
Presentations could include items such as innovative methods for testing fuel in non-rod
configurations (e.g. discs, wafers, etc.), re-fabrication techniques for irradiated fuel, ramp
testing facilities, as well as more traditional techniques for the measurement of temperature,
fission gas release and dimensional changes. Experimental methods used to control local
power of the fuel under test to match operational conditions such as transients or load follow
operation could also be described as well as in-reactor loops for controlling water chemistry or
other environmental conditions (e.g. liquid metal, supercritical water, molten salt). Theoretical
and computational studies supporting the results expected from different techniques are
welcome, as are results demonstrating successful implementation of particular techniques.
The aim of the meeting, however, is to strengthen and widen the knowledge base on in-pile
measurement techniques as applied to nuclear fuel rather than to exchange and present fuel
properties and performance data.
II.
TOPICS TO BE COVERED
Papers are invited on all aspects of in-core testing of fuel materials.
Particular topics include, but are not limited, to:
Fuel rod instrumentation:
 Fuel centre temperature
 Clad surface temperature
 Fission gas release (pressure measurements)
 Dimensional change (fuel and clad)
 Power measurement
Fuel rod re-fabrication:
 Irradiated fuel pellet drilling
 Gas line connections
 In-core connectors for instrumentation
 Welding of high fluence or dissimilar materials
Experimental control:
 Thermal-hydraulic conditions in loop systems (temperature, pressure and flow)
 Coolant chemistry including injection / addition systems
 Power monitoring and control including transients and load follow
 Temperature monitoring and control
 Gas flow monitoring and control
 Applied load control (e.g. for fuel or clad creep)
Innovative techniques:
 Ultrasonic or acoustic inspections
 In-core fast neutron measurements
 Protective coatings
 Noise measurements
 Vibration measurements
 Fuel failure investigations including in-core water ingress devices
 In-rod hydrogen detectors (for fuel failure studies)
 Coolant transient flow monitoring
In-Core measurement of separate fuel and cladding properties:
 Clad thermal conductance including effects of oxide and crud
 Clad creep
 Clad irradiation growth
 Clad corrosion rates (in situ monitoring)
 Fuel thermal conductivity degradation
 Fuel creep
 Fuel densification and swelling
 Fission gas release (e.g. with gas flow and spectrometry)
Development of new instruments for in-pile testing of Generation IV fuel and structural
materials:
 Instruments able to operate in liquid metals, supercritical ‘steam’, molten salt etc.
 Linear Voltage Differential Detectors for high temperature (above 400oC)
 Online cladding corrosion detectors (potential drop, EIS / ECN)
 Electrochemical sensors (ECP, conductivity etc.)
 In core Eddy-current techniques e.g. for detecting development of defects
Theoretical and computational techniques:
 Thermocouple de-calibration
 Interpretation of instrumentation results
 Finite element analysis for thermal / stress calculations
 Modelling of instrumentation (e.g. LVDTs) for improved design and fabrication
III. ORGANIZATION
Meeting
Chairman:
Mr. Rudi Van Nieuwenhove
OECD Halden Reactor Project, Halden, Norway
Phone: +47 69 21 2337; Fax: +47 69 21 2201
E-mail: rudivn@hrp.no
Meeting
Co-ordinator:
Mr. Wolfgang Wiesenack
OECD Halden Reactor Project, Halden, Norway
Phone: +47 69 21 2200; Fax: +47 69 21 2201
E-mail: wowi@hrp.no
Administrative
Officer
Ms. Turid Danielsen
OECD Halden Reactor Project, Halden, Norway
Phone: +47 69 21 2328; Fax: +47 69 21 2201
E-mail: turidd@hrp.no
Scientific
Secretaries
Mr. Victor Inozemtsev
International Atomic Energy Agency
P.O. Box 100, 1400 Vienna, Austria
Phone: +431 2600 22760; Fax: +431 26007
E-mail: v.inozemtsev@iaea.org
Mr. Andrej Zeman
International Atomic Energy Agency
P.O. Box 100, 1400 Vienna, Austria
Phone: +431 2600 21705; Fax: +431 26007
E-mail: a.zeman@iaea.org
IV. DEADLINE FOR PAPERS AND PARTICIPATION IN THE MEETING
The meeting may be attended only upon official designation. Participants should complete the
attached Form A (Participation form) and B (Form for submission of a paper) and send them,
together with an abstract of approximately 300 words to the appropriate national authority
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs or National Atomic Energy Authority) for subsequent
transmission to the IAEA, not later than 11 June 2012, with copies to the Scientific Secretary
Mr. Victor Inozemtsev, the Meeting Co-ordinator Mr. Wolfgang Wiesenack, and the Meeting
Chairman, Mr. Rudi Van Nieuwenhove. The abstracts should summarize the content and
principal conclusions of the paper. The format of the IAEA Technical Meetings presumes
active contribution from all participants either in the form of papers/presentations, or e.g.
chairing sessions and preparation of topical summaries.
Prospective participants will be notified about the acceptance of their applications, and a
preliminary programme will be published on the meeting web-site by 2 July 2012. As usually
practised in this type of meetings, the programme will include a summary session to permit
participants to discuss section summaries and to make recommendations to the IAEA on
future work in this field.
Upon arrival to the meeting venue the authors are requested to bring in electronic form (on a
CD or a memory stick) their papers in MS Word format and their presentations in Power Point
or PDF format.
V.
VENUE AND ACCOMMODATION
The meeting will be held at the:
Kaserna, Fredriksten Festning (Fortress), Halden
Accommodation for delegates and any accompanying persons will also be at Kaserna and
delegates should arrange this through the meeting Administrative Officer, Ms Turid
Danielsen. It is anticipated that accommodation costs will be around 525 NKr per day.
Depending on demand, help and advice in arranging activities for accompanying persons will
be provided.
Overlooked by the mighty Fredriksten Fortress, Halden possesses great historical treasures
and a variety of sights. As well as the beautiful manor house of Rød Herregård with its
peaceful garden, the harbour and old town offers the opportunity for strolling in pleasant
surroundings. For the more active, it is possible to enjoy a round of golf in the historical
surroundings of the Fredriksten Fortress.
Half a day of the meeting will be set aside for a technical visit to the facilities of the Halden
Project.
Further details of travel arrangements, technical visit and social events will be provided to
participants at the meeting website. The link to this website will be made available in due
course.
Designated participants who require a visa to enter Norway should submit the necessary
application form in due time to the nearest diplomatic or consular representative of Norway.
VI. EXPENDITURES
In accordance with the established rules, Governments or other national authorities are
expected to bear the travel and other costs of designated participants in the meeting. Limited
funds are, however, available to help cover the cost of participants from Member States
eligible to receive technical assistance under the IAEA’s technical cooperation programme.
Such assistance can be offered, upon specific request, to one participant per country provided
that, in the IAEA’s view, this participant will make an important contribution to the meeting.
The application for financial support should be made at the time of designation of the
participant.
Please note that compensation is not payable by the IAEA for any damage to or loss of the
expert’s personal property. However, for the period of the expert’s participation in the above
IAEA meeting on the dates indicated, including travel between the expert’s residence and the
duty station, the expert will be covered under the IAEA’s insurance policy for permanent total
disablement or death resulting from service-incurred accidents or illness up to a maximum of
€100 000, for permanent partial disablement resulting from service-incurred accidents or
illness up to a maximum of €100 000 and for medical expenses up to a maximum of €20 000
plus €10 000 for supplementary travel and accommodation expenses in case of illness or
injury resulting from service-incurred accidents or illness, in accordance with the terms of the
IAEA’s relevant insurance policy.
VII. WORKING LANGUAGE
The working language of the meeting will be English. All communications, abstracts, and
papers must be sent in English.