The US Department of Energy has embarked on a series of tests of TRISO-coated particle reactor fuel intended for use in the Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) as part of the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) program. The AGR-1 TRISO fuel experiment, currently underway, is the first in a series of eight fuel tests planned for irradiation in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) located at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The AGR-1 experiment reached a peak compact averaged burn up of 9% FIMA with no known TRISO fuel particle failures in March 2008. The burnup goal for the majority of the fuel compacts is to have a compact averaged burnup greater than 18% FIMA and a minimum compact averaged burnup of 14% FIMA. At the INL the TRISO fuel in the AGR-1 experiment is closely monitored while it is being irradiated in the ATR. The effluent monitoring system used for the AGR-1 fuel is the Fission Product Monitoring System (FPMS). The FPMS is a valuable tool that provides near real-time data indicative of the AGR-1 test fuel performance and incorporates both high-purity germanium (HPGe) gamma-ray spectrometers and sodium iodide [NaI(Tl)] scintillation detector-based gross radiation monitors. To quantify the fuel performance, release-to-birth ratios (R/B's) of radioactive fission gases are computed. The gamma-ray spectra acquired by the AGR-1 FPMS are analyzed and used to determine the released activities of specific fission gases, while a dedicated detector provides near-real time count rate information. Isotopic build up and depletion calculations provide the associated isotopic birth rates. This paper highlights the features of the FPMS, encompassing the equipment, methods and measures that enable the calculation of the release-to-birth ratios. Some preliminary results from the AGR-1 experiment are also presented.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is embarking on a series of tests of coated-particle reactor fuel for the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR). As one part of this fuel development program a series of eight (8) fuel irradiation tests are planned for the Idaho National Laboratory's (INL's) Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). The first test in this series (AGR-1) will incorporate six separate "capsules" irradiated simultaneously, each containing about 51,000 TRISO-coated fuel particles supported in a graphite matrix and continuously swept with inert gas during irradiation. The effluent gas from each of the six capsules must be independently monitored in near real time and the activity of various fission gas nuclides determined and reported. A set of seven heavily-shielded high-purity germanium (HPGe) gamma-ray spectrometers and sodium iodide [NaI(Tl)] scintillation detector-based total radiation detectors have been designed, and are being configured and tested for use during the AGR-1 experiment. The AGR-1 test specification requires that the AGR-1 fission product measurement system (FPMS) have sufficient sensitivity to detect the failure of a single coated fuel particle and sufficient range to allow it to "count" multiple (up to 250) successive particle failures. This paper describes the design and expected performance of the AGR-1 FPMS.

The Advanced Gas Reactor -1 (AGR-1) experiment is the first experiment in a series of eight separate low enriched uranium (LEU) oxycarbide (UCO) tri-isotropic (TRISO) particle fuel (in compact form) experiments scheduled for placement in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) located at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The experiment began irradiation in the ATR with a cycle that reached full power on December 26, 2006 and will continue irradiation for about 2.5 years. During this time six separate capsules, will be irradiated in an inert sweep gas atmosphere with individual on-line fission product monitoring on its effluent to track performance of the fuel in each individual capsule during irradiation. The goals of the irradiation experiment is to provide irradiation performance data to support fuel process development, to qualify fuel for normal operating conditions, to support development and validation of fuel, and to provide irradiated fuel and materials for post irradiation examination (PIE) and safety testing. This paper presents the preliminary test details of the fuel performance, as measured by the control and acquisition software.

The United States Department of Energy's Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) Fuel Development and Qualification Program will be irradiating eight separate tri-isotopic (TRISO) particle fuel (in compact form) experiments in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) located at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). These irradiations and fuel development are being accomplished to support development of the next generation reactors in the United States. The ATR has a long history of irradiation testing in support of reactor development and the INL has been designated as the United States Department of Energy's lead laboratory for nuclear energy development. These AGR fuel experiments will be irradiated over the next ten years to demonstrate and qualify new particle fuel for use in high temperature gas reactors. The experiments, which will each consist of six separate capsules, will be irradiated in an inert sweep gas atmosphere with individual on-line temperature monitoring and control for each capsule. The swept gas will also have on-line fission product monitoring to track performance of the fuel in each individual capsule during irradiation. The design of the first experiment (designated AGR-1) was completed in 2005, and the fabrication and assembly of the test train as well as the support systems and fission product monitoring system that monitor and control the experiment during irradiation were completed in September 2006. The experiment was inserted in the ATR in December 2006, and is serving as a shakedown test of the multi-capsule experiment design that will be used in the subsequent irradiations as well as a test of the early variants of the fuel produced under this program. The experiment test train as well as the monitoring, control, and data collection systems are discussed and the status of the experiment is provided.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is initiating tests of reactor fuel for use in an Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR). The AGR will use helium coolant, a low-power-density ceramic core, and coated-particle fuel. A series of eight (8) fuel irradiation tests are planned for the Idaho National Laboratory's (INL's) Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). One important measure of fuel performance in these tests is quantification of the fission gas releases over the nominal 2-year duration of each irradiation experiment. This test objective will be met using the AGR Fission Product Monitoring System (FPMS) which includes seven (7) on-line detection stations viewing each of the six test capsule effluent lines (plus one spare). Each station incorporates both a heavily-shielded high-purity germanium (HPGe) gamma-ray spectrometer for quantification of the isotopic releases, and a NaI(Tl) scintillation detector to monitor the total count rate and identify the timing of the releases. The AGR-1 experiment will begin irradiation after October 1, 2006. To support this experiment, the FPMS has been completely assembled, tested, and calibrated in a laboratory at the INL, and then reassembled and tested in its final location in the ATR reactor basement. This paper presents the details of the equipment performance, the control and acquisition software, the test plan for the irradiation monitoring, and the installation in the ATR basement. Preliminary on-line data may be available by the Conference date.

The results of a detailed physics depletion calculation used to characterize the AGR-1 TRISO-coated particle fuel test irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at the Idaho National Laboratory are compared to measured data for the purpose of validation. The particle fuel was irradiated for 13 ATR power cycles over three calendar years. The physics analysis predicts compact burnups ranging from 11.30-19.56% FIMA and cumulative neutron fast fluence from 2.21?4.39E+25 n/m2 under simulated high-temperature gas-cooled reactor conditions in the ATR. The physics depletion calculation can provide a full characterization of all 72 irradiated TRISO-coated particle compacts during and post-irradiation, so validation of this physics calculation was a top priority. The validation of the physics analysis was done through comparisons with available measured experimental data which included: 1) high-resolution gamma scans for compact activity and burnup, 2) mass spectrometry for compact burnup, 3) flux wires for cumulative fast fluence, and 4) mass spectrometry for individual actinide and fission product concentrations. The measured data are generally in very good agreement with the calculated results, and therefore provide an adequate validation of the physics analysis and the results used to characterize the irradiated AGR-1 TRISO fuel.

This publication reports on the results of a coordinated research project on advances in high temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR) fuel technology and describes the findings of research activities on coated particle developments. These comprise two specific benchmark exercises with the application of HTGR fuel performance and fission product release codes, which helped compare the quality and validity of the computer models against experimental data. The project participants also examined techniques for fuel characterization and advanced quality assessment/quality control. The key exercise included a round-robin experimental study on the measurements of fuel kernel and particle coating properties of recent Korean, South African and US coated particle productions applying the respective qualification measures of each participating Member State. The summary report documents the results and conclusions achieved by the project and underlines the added value to contemporary knowledge on HTGR fuel.