DEFINITION OF IN-PILE RESEARCH MODES FOR RADIATION HEATING OF NUCLEAR AND FUSION EQUIPMENT MATERIALS
Keywords:
impulse graphite reactor, radiation heating, construction materials, in-pie research, neutronics parameters, reactor operating modeIssue
Section
Abstract
One of the key roles in solving the problem of ensuring the safe operation of nuclear and fusion facilities is given to research aimed at studying the neutronics conditions and the degree of radiation heating of structural materials when exposed to radiation. To obtain experimental values of the threshold specific energy releases leading to deformation and destruction of materials, it is necessary to test them under the conditions of comprehensive impact of operating factors. It is possible to obtain experimental data on the state of structural materials under conditions of in-pile irradiation using the research Impulse Graphite Reactor (IGR).
Previously, a cycle of preliminary studies was conducted at the IGR to experimentally study the effect of radiation heating of various structural materials of nuclear reactors. Based on existing experience, since 2021, specialists from the National Nuclear Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan (NNC RK) have been working to obtain experimental data to study the effect of radiation heating on various structural materials of nuclear and fusion equipment, as well as a detailed study of the mechanisms of material behavior when exposed to reactor radiation.
To substantiate the possibility of conducting irradiation experiments to study the radiation heating of the studied samples in the IGR, a number of neutronics and thermophysical calculations were conducted. The ratio of the energy release in the samples to the energy release in the reactor was established, as a result of which the optimal modes of reactor research were chosen. A cartogram of samples layout in the test section of the experimental device was compiled. The change in temperature in the samples and structural materials of the experimental device during their irradiation in the IGR was determined. As a result, the feasibility study of experiments to study radiation heating of a set of structural materials for nuclear and thermonuclear technology at the IGR was confirmed by calculation.
