New Practice for Investigating Process of Laser Cutting and Microstructure of Recast Layer of Al2O3 Ceramic/Stainless Steel Components
1. Scope
1.1 This practice covers the laser cutting process for disintegration of spent fuel post-treatment. Al2O3 ceramic/stainless steel components, the surface morphology and crystal structure of recast layer are analyzed.
1.2 This practice is applicable to measure Al2O3 ceramic/stainless steel layers within 1mm in depth, in order to laser cutting without crack; to reduce the difficulty in molten material debris collection; and to easily separate cladding from the pellet.
1.3 Laser cutting can be considered as non-contact thermal processing technology with high heating velocity and high processing precision. Laser cutting can be localized processing without mechanical abrasion, which can be adopted to effectively disintegrate the cladding from the pellet.
This practice is intended to provide the nuclear research community with recommended Spent Fuel Reprocessing, which can be recycled the remaining 235U and other useful nuclides; and can process the radioactive waste, including head-end mechnical cutting[1], strong acid dissolution, PUREX leaching/Extraction, and tail-end treatment.
