ML20357A390
| ML20357A390 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 07109319 |
| Issue date: | 12/22/2020 |
| From: | Pierre Saverot Storage and Transportation Licensing Branch |
| To: | Christopher Regan Division of Fuel Management |
| PSaverot - NMSS/DFM/STL - 301.415.7505 | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20357A388 | List: |
| References | |
| EPID L-2020-LLA-0247 | |
| Download: ML20357A390 (4) | |
Text
C. Regan UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 MEMORANDUM TO:
Christopher Regan, Deputy Director Division of Fuel Management, NMSS FROM:
Pierre Saverot, Project Manager Storage and Transportation Licensing Branch Division of Fuel Management, NMSS
SUBJECT:
SUMMARY
OF DECEMBER 7, 2020 MEETING WITH FRAMATOME INC.
=
Background===
Framatome Inc. requested this public meeting to discuss a pending amendment request, for the MAP 12 and MAP-13 packages, featuring an increased allowable enrichment above 5 wt.% U235 for 17x17 fuel assemblies. This project will allow utilities to increase fuel cycle lengths and capacity factors by reducing the number of refueling outages. This pre-application meeting, noticed on November 19, 2020 (ADAMS Accession No. ML20322A452), was held by videoconference.
The meeting attendance list and the presentation are provided as Enclosure Nos. 1 and 2, respectively.
Discussion The Model No. MAP packages certificate of compliance (CoC) currently allows both Type A and Type B -slightly contaminated uranium with trace quantities limits-fuel pellets loaded in rods as uranium oxides, primarily as ceramic UO2 and U3O8, with a maximum enrichment of 5wt.%. The MAP package is also authorized to transport fresh accident tolerant fuel (ATF) lead test assemblies (LTAs) with a chromium coating, and a nominal thickness of 15 micrometers (µm),
along the length of the exterior of the zirconium alloy cladding of each fuel rod.
This amendment request will increase the maximum enrichment above 5.0 wt.% U235, within high assay low enriched (HALEU) limits, and include a new 17x17 Type 3 (GAIA) fuel design.
Framatome said that the new material to accommodate higher enrichments will conform to an ASTM standard being developed for uranium hexafluoride.
The applicant explained that no changes are expected for the structural, thermal, containment or shielding evaluations of the package. For example, fuel rod wall thickness and payload weight are still bounded by test conditions; the GAIA 17x17 grid design utilizes shorter spaced supports providing further resistance to buckling and also allows for either zirconium alloy or chromium coated zirconium alloy fuel rod cladding previously approved; the small increase in decay heat will not change the thermal evaluation; the fuel rod cladding remains the containment boundary; no change is expected from an updated shielding evaluation due to the small increase in radiation for these new contents.
Pierre M.
Saverot Digitally signed by Pierre M.
Saverot Date: 2020.12.22 09:37:10 -05'00'
C. Regan 2
Criticality evaluations will be performed using SCALE 6.4.2 and Framatome explained that Sensitivity/Uncertainty (S/U) analyses will identify applicable critical experiments to their application model. Staff asked if Framatome considered crediting Integral Fuel Burnable Absorber (IFBA) and Framatome responded that it uses Gd2O3 -U02 fuel pellets as integral burnable absorber within its fuel design and plans on crediting them.
Regarding experiment selection for the criticality evaluation, staff asked how Gd2O3 will be captured in the benchmark set since there are not many benchmarks; the applicant explained it will use similarity analyses.
Staff noted that the handbook of benchmark experiments does not really define intermediate experiments (between 5% and 20%) and asked if there were any Gadolinium experiments in this group with a correlation coefficient Ck 0.8. Staff also said it will look very closely at such Gadolinium experiments and how they are captured in the validation: Framatome responded this is the reason why the TSUNAMI SCALE modules are being used.
Preliminary results for the criticality evaluation show a Keff of 0.9346. Staff asked if Framatome had a target upper subcritical limit (USL) and the applicant responded it had not been calculated yet.
Framatome will be submitting later this month this amendment request and expects to receive a CoC in December 2021.
Staff made no regulatory commitment during the meeting.
Docket No. 71-9319 EPID L-2020-LLA-0247
Enclosures:
1-Meeting Attendees 2-Presentation
C. Regan 3
SUBJECT:
SUMMARY
OF DECEMBER 7, 2020 MEETING WITH FRAMATOME INC.
DATE:
DISTRIBUTION: SFST r/f, A. Kock ADimitriadis, RI DHills, RII MKunowski, RIII GWarnick, RIV G:\\SFST\\Saverot\\71-9319 MAP AREVA\\meeting summary December 2020.doc; NRC Pre-Application Meeting 12-7-2020 final.pdf ADAMS No.: ML OFC DFM E
DFM C
DFM NAME PSaverot SFigueroa JMcKirgan DATE 12/09/2020 12/10/2020 12/22/2020 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
Meeting Between Framatome Inc.
and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission December 7, 2020 Meeting Attendees NRC/NMSS/DFM Pierre Saverot Andrew Barto Marilyn Diaz-Maldonado Andrew Carrera FRAMATOME Tim Tate Calvin Manning Bryan Flanagan Dan Talmadge Dan Mensink Brian Friend Michelle Guzzardo Ben Nelson ORANO Federal Services Rob Machen Phil Noss Slade Klein Erik Gonsiorowski John Scaglione Donald Mueller Westinghouse Electric Tanya Sloma-DeLosier