Transport Mechanisms of Uranium Rleased to the Coolant From Fuel Defects

Abstract

Fuel performance at domestic CANDU-600s, Point Lepreau and Gentilly, has been very good, with only a small number of fuel defects releasing uranium to the coolant. The in-core monitoring on these early fuel defects using the delayed neutron system, provides some insight into uranium transport mechanisms and how they influence signal trends. Better understanding of these mechanisms, will assist the station operator in responding to trend changes and will ultimately provide guidance in assigning removal priorities should several fuel defects occur simultaneously. The average delayed neutron signal of all channels is the key parameter for monitoring fuel performance in-core, and should be regarded as an early warning indicator of fuel performance problems.