Estimating number of fuel rods with seal failure in nuclear reactor comprises calculations based on release of fission products

摘要

The process, especially for use on a pressurized water cooled nuclear reactor, comprises calculating the overall released fraction of at least one fission product, such as Xenon-133, from one or more unsealed fuel rods from measurements taken on the reactor, providing a value for a first parameter representing the linear power of the unsealed rod(s) and a value for a second parameter representing the clearance between the sleeve(s) of the unsealed fuel rod(s) and the fuel inside. The calculated values are used to estimate the quantity of a fission product released by a single fuel rod, and from it the number of unsealed fuel rods in the reactor.