Channel Gap Measurements of Irradiated Plate Fuel and Comparison with Post-Irradiation Plate Thickness

One of the salient nuclear fuel performance parameters for new fuel types under development is changes in fuel thickness. To test the new commercially fabricated U-10Mo monolithic plate-type fuel, an irradiation experiment was designed that consisted of multiple mini-plate capsules distributed within the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) core, the mini-plate 1 (MP-1) experiment. Each capsule contains eight mini-plates that were either fueled or “dummy” plates. Fuel thickness changes within a fuel assembly can be characterized by measuring the gaps between the plates ultrasonically. The channel gap probe (CGP) system is designed to measure the gaps between the plates and will provide information that supports qualification of U-10Mo monolithic fuel. This study will discuss the design and the results from the use of a custom-designed CGP system for characterizing the gaps between mini-plates within the MP-1 capsules. To ensure accurate and repeatable data, acceptance and calibration procedures have been developed. Unfortunately, there is no “gold” standard measurement to compare to CGP measurements. An effort was made to use plate thickness obtained from post-irradiation measurements to derive channel gap estimates for comparison with the CGP characterization.