Analysis of simulated high burnup nuclear fuel by laser induced breakdown spectroscopy

Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) grade (Th-U)O-2 fuel sample and Simulated High Burn-Up Nuclear Fuels (SIMFUEL) samples mimicking the 28 and 43 GWd/Fe irradiated burn-up fuel were studied using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) setup in a simulated hot-cell environment from a distance of >1.5 m. Resolution of <38 pm has been used to record the complex spectra of the SIMFUEL samples. By using spectrum comparison and database matching >60 emission lines of fission products was identified. Among them only a few emission lines were found to generate calibration curves. The study demonstrates the possibility to investigate impurities at concentrations around hundreds of ppm, rapidly at atmospheric pressure without any sample preparation. The results of Ba and Mo showed the advantage of LIBS analysis over traditional methods involving sample dissolution, which introduces possible elemental loss. Limits of detections (LOD) under Ar atmosphere shows significant improvement, which is shown to be due to the formation of stable plasma. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.