ASTM_C_776_-_06_2011.pdf

Designation:C77606(Reapproved 2011)Standard Specification forSintered Uranium Dioxide Pellets1This standard is issued under the fixed designation C776;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.INTRODUCTIONThis specification is intended to provide the nuclear industry with a general specification foruranium dioxide pellets.It recognizes the diversity of manufacturing methods by which uraniumdioxide pellets are produced and the many special requirements for chemical and physicalcharacterization which may be imposed by the operating conditions to which the pellets will besubjected in specific reactor systems.Therefore,it is anticipated that the purchaser may supplementthis specification with additional requirements for specific applications.1.Scope1.1 This specification is for finished sintered uranium diox-ide pellets.It applies to uranium dioxide pellets containinguranium of any235U concentration for use in nuclear reactors.1.2 This specification recognizes the presence of repro-cessed uranium in the fuel cycle and consequently definesisotopic limits for uranium dioxide pellets made from commer-cial grade UO2.Such commercial grade UO2is defined so that,regarding fuel design and manufacture,the product is essen-tially equivalent to that made from unirradiated uranium.UO2falling outside these limits cannot necessarily be regarded asequivalent and may thus need special provisions at the fuelfabrication plant or in the fuel design.1.3 This specification does not include(a)provisions forpreventing criticality accidents or(b)requirements for healthand safety.Observance of this specification does not relieve theuser of the obligation to be aware of and conform to all federal,state,and local regulations pertaining to possessing,shipping,processing,or using source or special nuclear material.Ex-amples of U.S.Government documents are Code of FederalRegulations(Latest Edition),Title 10,Part 50,Title 10,Part 71,and Title 49,Part 173.1.4 The following precautionary caveat pertains only to thetechnical requirements portion,Section 4,of this specification:This standard does not purport to address all of the safetyconcerns,if any,associated with its use.It is the responsibilityof the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety andhealth practices and determine the applicability or regulatorylimitations prior to use.2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:2C696 Test Methods for Chemical,Mass Spectrometric,andSpectrochemical Analysis of Nuclear-Grade Uranium Di-oxide Powders and PelletsC753 Specification for Nuclear-Grade,Sinterable UraniumDioxide PowderC859 Terminology Relating to Nuclear MaterialsC996 Specification for Uranium Hexafluoride Enriched toLess Than 5%235UC1233 Practice for Determining Equivalent Boron Contentsof Nuclear MaterialsE105 Practice for Probability Sampling of Materials2.2 ANSI Standard:3ANSI/ASME NQA-1 Quality Assurance Requirements forNuclear Facility Applications2.3 U.S.Government Documents:Code of Federal Regulations(Latest Edition),Title 10,Part50,Energy(10 CFR 50)Domestic Licensing of Produc-tion and Utilization Facilities4Code of Federal Regulations,Title 10,Part 71,Packagingand Transportation of Radioactive Material41This specification is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee C26 onNuclear Fuel Cycle and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee C26.02 on Fueland Fertile Material Specifications.Current edition approved June 1,2011.Published June 2011.Originallyapproved in 1976.Last previous edition approved in 2006 as C776 06.DOI:10.1520/C0776-06R11.2For referenced ASTM standards,visit the ASTM website,www.astm.org,orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org.For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information,refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.3Available from American National Standards Institute(ANSI),25 W.43rd St.,4th Floor,New York,NY 10036,http:/www.ansi.org.4Available from U.S.Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents,732 N.Capitol St.,NW,Mail Stop:SDE,Washington,DC 20401,http:/www.access.gpo.gov.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United States1 Code of Federal Regulations,Title 49,Part 173,GeneralRequirements for Shipments and Packaging4Regulatory Guide NUREG 1.126 An Acceptable Model andRelated Statistical Methods for the Analysis of FuelDensification,Rev.1 March 197853.Terminology3.1 DefinitionsFor definitions of terms,refer to Terminol-ogy C859.4.Technical Requirements4.1 Chemical RequirementsAll chemical analyses shall beperformed on portions of the representative sample prepared inaccordance with Section 6.Analytical chemistry methods usedshall be as stated in Test Methods C696(latest edition)ordemonstrated equiva