INL performs high burnup fuel safety test

The Idaho National Laboratory has concluded a first-of-a-kind safety experiment with high burnup fuel the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy announced on Tuesday.

Text results should provide data that could help boost performance and lower the amount of waste generated at nuclear plants, the Office of Nuclear Energy said in its press release.

High burnup fuel comes from nuclear fuel kept in a reactor longer to increase electricity output. 

Researchers at INL performed transient testing on a high burnup fuel sample previously irradiated in a commercial reactor. Transient testing assesses a system or component’s response to sudden changes in operating conditions.

DOE said the transient test was the first of its kind done in the United States.

The experiment was conducted at INL’s Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT). The experimental fuel rod was one of 25 shipped to INL  last year as part of an agreement between the state of Idaho and the federal government to develop new fuel technologies, DOE said.

The fuel rods were developed and manufactured by Westinghouse Electric Company with technical assistance from various national laboratories, including INL.

According to the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy, INL plans to conduct several additional safety tests on the spent fuel shipment. The tests will include some experimental rods supported through DOE’s Accident Tolerant Fuel program.