Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to separate fuel substances from other nuclear fission products without dissolving the substances as they remain oxides. SOLUTION: This method includes (1) a pulverization process for pulverizing fuel elements by heating and oxidizing spent fuel, (2) a selective sulfurization process for reducing the fuel substances and selectively sulfurizing nuclear fission products into sulfide or oxysulfide by heating the pulverulent bodies obtained in the pulverization process in an atmosphere containing a sulfurizer and (3) a magnetic separation process for collecting compounds of fuel elements and those of some nuclear fission product elements by suspending the compounds of the fuel elements and the nuclear fission product elements obtained in the previous process in a fluid and passing them through a magnetic separator and additionally separating them on the basis of the difference in their magnetic susceptibilities. COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To load sufficient stress to a minute test piece at high temperature by a simple mechanism. SOLUTION: A minute test piece stress loading device comprises a tool 10 for loading stress; a minute test piece 14 inserted into a sample insertion hole 12; and a heating device 16 that accommodates them and is capable of simultaneously increasing temperature at nearly the same temperature increase rate. The tool for loading stress is made of a material having a smaller thermal coefficient of expansion than that of the minute test piece, and loads the minute test piece with compressive stress only by high-temperature heating, by utilizing the difference in the thermal coefficients of expansion between materials of different kind. In the minute test piece, the end face is subjected to high-precision precision machining to form a minute gap prescribed at an area to the tool for loading stress. In the device, a stress loading mechanism and the heating section are integrated. COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To produce spherical particles which are almost perfect spheres by means of a gelation method. SOLUTION: In the method for producing particles, the surface of reaction liquid is covered with a cushion layer and raw material liquid is dropped to the cushion layer on the basis of the external gelation method. Preferably, the surface of the reaction liquid is covered with an air bubble layer of the reaction liquid, the height of the air bubble layer is 1 mm to 50 mm, the air bubble layer is formed of minute air bubbles of average particle size 4 mm or less. Otherwise, preferably, surface viscosity of the air bubble layer is 20 - 150 g/sec and bubble life of the air bubble layer is 30 - 150 sec. In the method for producing gel particle, the raw material liquid is dropped to the cushion layer formed of the air bubble layer above described. The spherical particles produced by this method has a sphericity less than 1.4. COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a long-life and high-efficiency alkali metal thermoelectric generator. SOLUTION: The alkali metal thermoelectric generator is characterized by comprising: a heater 1 that heats an alkali metal Na and holds it in a melted state; a generating part 10 in which the gassed alkali metal Na passes through a solid electrolyte and generates heat; and a condenser 2 that condenses and liquefied the alkali metal Na that has passed through the solid electrolyte. The alkali metal thermoelectric generator is also characterized in that the condenser 2 at a low-temperature side is arranged above the condenser 1 at a high-temperature side via the generating part 10, and the liquefied alkali metal Na collected in the condenser 2 is made to circulate to the heater 1 by using the head pressure of the heater. COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To move a traveling radiation monitor for measuring the radiation conditions on the floor surface and in a space on a traveling route during traveling among a plurality of measurement areas for use without need for survey work by manual operation. SOLUTION: The traveling radiation monitor can measure radiation to two floor surfaces F, namely a floor surface contamination measurement by a direct method that is made by lowering and bringing a probe 9 for measuring surface contamination to and closer to a floor surface F and a floor surface contamination measurement by an indirect method by using smear filter paper 12 using the same probe 9 while automatically traveling in a measurement area. Additionally, after measuring radiation at a specified measurement point, along with the automatic traveling to a survey area, a radiation survey by a wheel contamination detection probe 22 to a wheel 2, and the decontamination of a radioactive substance by jetting out decontamination water from a decontamination water nozzle 23 can be made, so that a radiation measurement can be executed to a plurality of measurement areas having different management levels without requiring human work. COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily separate and recover iron and manganese contained in water and to reduce the load on storage by reducing the amount of waste material containing radium by preliminarily separating iron from manganese and radium, especially, in the case when radium is contained in addition to the iron and manganese. SOLUTION: The method for separating and recovering iron and manganese includes a step of an iron removing process comprising controlling the pH of water containing iron and manganese to 5.0-6.0 and adsorbing iron by bringing the iron into contact with an iron-removing filter material while air-oxidizing only the iron by blowing air into the water, and a manganese-removing process comprising controlling the pH of the water from which the iron has been removed to about neutral and adsorbing manganese by bringing the manganese into contact with a manganese-removing filter material while oxidizing the manganese by the addition of a chlorine-based oxidizing agent. The materials stuck on the filter materials are sorted and recovered by subjecting the iron-removing filter material with iron stuck thereon and the manganese-removing filter material with manganese stuck thereon to back washing. COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten a work period, reduce the amount of demolition waste, and simplify a shielding process by rationalizing a disassembly method for pressure tubes when decommissioning of an advanced thermal reactor. SOLUTION: A pressure tube assembly 2 dismantled from a nuclear reactor of an advanced thermal reactor is conveyed to a spent fuel storage pool 19 using an existing fuel handling system and cut finely with a pressure tube cutting machine 41 in the pool. Using the existing fuel handling system to cut pressure tubes in the pool enables to utilize shielding effects due to water. In addition, it does not interfere with other operations unlike a cutting operation in a containment vessel. This process can also reduce the amount of demolition waste compared with the case of preparing a cutting and conveying equipment for a pressure tube assembly 2 after dismantling of the fuel handling system. COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a cost of a facility for mixing a powder and a lubricant; to form a pellet having high purity and improved hardness and density; and to remarkably reduce the consumption of the lubricant. SOLUTION: A method for supplying the lubricant comprises converting the lubricant to be applied onto a die 14 into a misty state, naturally or forcefully attaching and applying the lubricant supplied from a charging line 4 onto an inner wall of the die 14, and discharging a surplus misty lubricant (b) before charging powder (a). The supplying apparatus comprises an atomizer 1 for converting the lubricant into a misty state; the charging line 4 for introducing the misty lubricant (b) sprayed from the atomizer 1 to the die 14 through a charging valve 2; a discharging line 8 for discharging the misty surplus lubricant (b) supplied to the die 14 through a discharging valve 7; and an aspirator 9 for sucking the misty lubricant (b) in the charging line 4 and the discharging line 8 so that the misty lubricant (b) passing through the charging line 4 can be naturally attached or forcibly applied onto the inner wall of the die 14. COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the kinds of fuel particles, to enhance the filling ratio, to improve a yield, and to reduce a manufacturing cost. SOLUTION: The atomic reactor fuel rod forms a fuel area 16 of a predetermined fuel density by loading fuel particles in a cladding tube 10, and applying oscillation thereto, and seals both ends of the cladding tube by end plugs 18 and 20. The fuel particles loaded in the cladding tube consist of spherical fuel particles and monolithic lump-shaped fuel particles. The grain size of the spherical fuel particles is larger than the grain size of the monolithic lump-shaped fuel particles, and both kinds of fuel particles are mixed in a substantially uniform manner. For example, there are two kinds, i.e., spherical fuel particles 30 of large grain size and monolithic lump-shaped fuel particles 34 of small grain size. The grain size of spherical fuel particles is 700-1,000 μm, and the grain size of monolithic lump-shaped fuel particles is ≤100 μm, and the charging ratio of spherical fuel particles is 50-70 wt.%. COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO
Abstract:
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To save labor of, simplify, and speed up an inspection by applying a non-destructive test using a potential difference method onto an electric insulating film without eliminating the electric insulating film. SOLUTION: An induction coil 12 making an AC flow and a detection coil 14 detecting an induced voltage are superimposed one above the other in a space. In the detection coil, a half part of the coil has windings wound in a reverse direction of the direction of the windings in the other half, thereby forming a differential-type coil. The coil parts also have same lengths of the windings operable with the induction coil. The electromagnetic induction probe 10 is brought into contact with a sample 16 to be inspected having an electrical conductivity, and the AC is supplied to the induction coil so that a current by the electromagnetic induction flows in the sample. The induced electromotive power is detected by the detection coil from the current flowing in the sample. A ratio of a real number component of a inverse-number voltage induced when the detection coil is brought into contact with a reference sample and a real number component of a inverse-number voltage induced when the detection coil is brought into contact with the sample to be inspected is obtained. COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO