May-June 2019 NPJ

50 NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2019 ARMOR Fuel... ( Continued from page 48) power distributions and reactivity margins for both the segmented design and the presence of the coating. All the above work plus an extremely open and collaborative relationship between vendor (GNF) and utility (Southern Nuclear) culminated in the first installation of several advanced ATF fuel candidates into an LTA in the United States. These ATF fuel candidates may serve many purposes in advancing fuel technologies that can be applied to solve the leading industry challenges. This program is both innovative, swift and bold and will serve the nuclear industry in many ways, including challenging ourselves to try things that have never been tried, swiftly, safely and compliantly. Safety This technology is fundamentally and inherently motivated to enhance nuclear safety in a substantial way. GNF’s ARMOR technology is expected to provide the following safety benefits:  Protection against debris fretting preventing leakers and the associated dose, cost and operational impacts.  Potential Operational Transients resulting in a steam patch formation on the surface of the fuel rod will become inconsequential. In the current Zircaloy-based fuel, operation with a steam patch will increase oxidation and degrade material performance.  Potential Design Basis Accidents will result in lower peak clad temperatures due to mitigation of the metal-water reaction. Also, ARMOR can tolerate higher temperatures during accidents while maintaining the retention of fission products.  Potential Beyond Design Basis Accidents (e.g., SBO as in Fukushima) – ARMOR may provide several hours of coping time to allow the station to restore cooling in a severe accident due to the reduced oxidation rates. Cost Savings As many studies have indicated, the deployment of ATF fuel is anticipated to reduce capital and operation and maintenance (O&M) cost. In addition, advanced fuel reliability (reduced susceptibility to operational fuel failures) from wear is anticipated to save approximately of $1 million per net impact of the operational failure. Anticipated extraction of the capital and O&M reduction require leveraging the oxidation benefits to further expand station operational flexibility, equipment classifications, and risk related regulations. Transferability The purpose of the ARMOR LTA program is to develop specimens for post-irradiation examination (PIE). PIE will characterize material properties and performance, support optimization, and fuel design for reload application across the GNF fueled fleet. Beyond transference of the technology, the rapid deployment of this technology demonstrates to the industry that innovation in fuel products in less than a year is achievable. It also established transferable process controls and regulatory framework to ensure that future ATF LTA programs can be deployed at the same pace. Vision & Leadership Simply put, the Southern Nuclear/ GNF team responded to the industry’s call to cultivate ATF options as fast as achievable for the benefit of the industry and the public. The team also had the forethought and vision to look more broadly into what other industry problems can be solved with the same types of materials. The depth and breadth of our collaborative product development programs and our continued alignment (multiple times per year) allow us to move ahead together in solutions. This is a shining example of execution and leadership in our challenging industry (that is historically change averse) in an environment that demands action and solutions. Contact: Johnathan Chavers, Southern Nuclear Operating Company, telephone: (205) 992-6293, email: jchavers@southernco.com. AMROR Lead Test Rods Prior to Installation.