The chemical and metallurgical plant (CMP) at Russia's Siberian Chemical Combine on 8 April held acceptance tests for experimental fuel assemblies (ETVSs) Nos 12 and 13 containing dense nitride fuel for fast neutron reactors BREST and BN, according to fuel company TVEL. The two ETVSs were sent to Beloyarsk NPP's unit 3 where they will be loaded into in the BN-600 reactor core for in-pile tests after the preparatory operations.
The assemblies house pellets and fuel rods with a greater diameter. In addition, "new modes of processes affecting the product quality" were tested in making ETVS 12 and 13, relating to powder manufacture and the pressing of bricks and pellets. ETVS 13 was loaded with fuel rods for BREST type reactors, and BN-1200-type fuel rods were loaded into ETVS 12.
The acceptance commission included representatives from FC TVEL, SCC, AA The AA Bochvar Research Institute of Inorganic Materials (VNIINM), OKB Afrikantov, the NN Dollezhal Research & Development Institute of Power Engineering (NIKIET), Beloyarsk NPP and VPO Zarubezhatomenergostroy. It checked on the "qualitative and quantitative characteristics of fuel in the rods and experimental assemblies, the quality of welds and assembled constructions, and the absence of surface radioactive and mechanical contamination". The experts also for leak-tightness of the fuel assemblies.
