Confirmation of the Design Characteristics of the TVS-K Design After Operation in the PWR Reactor at Ringhals-3 NPP

In 2020, four TVS-K fuel assemblies were unloaded from Ringhals-3 NPP after completion of pilot operation. During four fuel cycles, the TVS-K reached a burnup of 54.3 MWday/kgU. To confirm the design characteristics and justification the reliability and performance of TVS-K materials, six fuel rods and the skeleton were delivered to the Studsvik Hot Cell Laboratories for post-irradiation examinations. This paper presents the results of the following studies: The presented experimental data confirm the design characteristics and the high performance properties of the materials and TVS-K components and provide information on their corrosion resistance, strength, and dimensional stability under irradiation in the water-chemical regime of the PWR.