from the director’s desk · he constituted a project ... reprocessing development laboratory...

Spent Nuclear FuelReprocessing at Indira GandhiCentre for Atomic Research

ISSN 0972-5741 Volume 73 July 2007

INDIRA GANDHI CENTRE FOR ATOMIC RESEARCHhttp://www.igcar.ernet.in/lis/nl73/igc73.pdf

From the Director’s DeskFrom the Director’s DeskFrom the Director’s DeskFrom the Director’s DeskFrom the Director’s Desk

A strategy to sustain nuclear power in India was visualized by Homi JehangirBhabha. When he envisioned the three stage program for meeting energydemand for centuries, the charter for the nuclear fuel reprocessing hadbeen embedded, as the recovery of fissile material produced in the reactor isan integral part of this vision. In Dec 1958, the decision for setting up areprocessing plant at Trombay to process spent fuel discharged from CIRUSreactor was taken, giving expression to the ambition of Bhabha and PanditJawaharlal Nehru for achieving self reliance in energy security through thenuclear route.

Genesis of Fast Reactor Fuel Reprocessing ProgrammeIn sixties, the reprocessing group at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)

led by N.Srinivasan, which had built and operated the Plutonium Plant, wasalso carrying out R&D work on the chemistry of solvent extraction of plutoniumat high concentrations. This experience proved very useful when Dr. VikramSarabai concluded an agreement for transfer of know-how from France, forsetting up a Fast Breeder Test Reactor at Kalpakkam similar to Rapsodie. Hethought it prudent to have a dedicated Centre with R&D programmes focusedaround fast breeder reactor with closed fuel cycle. He constituted a projectimplementation committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. Raja Ramanna, whichculminated in the formation of Reactor Research Centre (RRC). N. Srinivasanwas chosen as the first Project Director. Among the other facilities of the

Fire Service Week Celebration - 2007

Forthcoming Symposia/Conferences

READIT-2007

Awards & Honours

Forum for Young Officers

Determination of the Hydrolysis Products ofKBF4 in Aqueous Waste Generated in theElectro Winning Process of Boron

Conference/Meeting Highlights

Visit of IBSA delegation on Nanotechnology

Training Program on “Disaster Management”

INSIDE

Technical Articles

Simulated Corrosion Testing Facilities forReprocessing Plant Materials

Knowledge Management Policy for IGCAR

The (bcc) To (fcc) Transformation InSteels: Some Less Well-Known BasicAspects of a Technologically Important Solid-State Transformation

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identifying the short term and longterm needs and started implementinghis vision. The team got nucleatedwith the regular induction ofengineers and scientists from the 14th

batch of BARC training school.

Emergence of Fast ReactorFuel Reprocessing Philosophy

Generally information dissemina-tion on reprocessing is limited. Veryfew publications, that appeared inthe proceedings of the conferencesheld in Geneva on peaceful uses ofAtomic Energy in the sixties, focusedon the subject. They only gaveinsight into the global scenario whichprevailed then.

Initially many countries evincedinterest in the field. This numberdrastically dwindled to a very fewsubsequently. Aqueous processes,based on solvent extraction and non-aqueous processes based onpyrochemical and pyrometallurgicalmethods have been studied. Even inaqueous processes, a large numberof solvents figured. After carefulconsideration of all processes, it wasdecided to defer the work on non-aqueous processes to a later datewhen we would have gainedreasonable experience in remotehandling technology and materialsuitability for high temperature andcorrosive environment.

Hence our efforts were launchedtowards the development of aqueousprocesses, based on solventextraction using Tributyl phosphatein dodecane type of diluent. This wasdue to the confidence arising out ofsatisfactory experience in Trombayon thermal reactor spent fuels.Limited published literature availableon this field from other countriesalso indicated that PUREX process canbe adapted for fast reactor fuelreprocessing.

Formulation of the ProgrammeConsidering plutonium rich

solutions to be handled with highlevels of radioactivity, various areasfor development were identified,such as chemistry of solvent

Center, a Reprocessing DevelopmentLaboratory (RDL) for carrying out R&Dactivities relating to the reprocessingof fast reactor fuel and a plant forreprocessing of spent fuel fromMadras Atomic Power Station (MAPS)were planned.

Leader IdentifiedG.R.Balasubramanian, a member of

the team which designed, erectedand operated the plutonium plant atTrombay was chosen for leading theactivities related to the developmentof fast reactor fuel reprocessing atKalpakkam. He was also an importantmember of the group that producedthe first button of plutonium metalin the country as early as 1965. In1969-70, he was deputed to FontenayAux Roses in France as an IAEA fellowfor studies related to the novelsolvent trilauryl amine for Puseparation. He was also engaged inTrombay in the work relating to thesolvent extraction chemistry ofplutonium at high concentrations,separation chemistry of thorium anduranium. His work also included R&Dstudies related to airlifts and otherequipment. He led the group whichdesigned and operated a pilot facilityin Trombay for recovery of U233 fromirradiated thorium using equipmentsuch as thermosyphon dissolver andair pulsed mixer settlers using 5% TBPas solvent.

G.R.Balasubramanian moved toKalpakkam in 1972 with onedraughtsman, P. K. Banerjee, from theReprocessing Group of BARC inresponse to his new assignment andhe drew up the master programme,

The beginning ofReprocessing in the country

The Plutonium Plant inTrombay was the first plant toreprocess spent fuel in India.It reprocessed the spent fueldischarged from CIRUSReactor. The plant wasdesigned and commissionedmainly by engineers from thefirst three batches of BARCTraining school withH.N.Sethna as ProjectEngineer and N.Srinivasan asdesign engineer. The plantand equipment designs werebased on first principles ofchemistry and engineering.All the equipment wereindegeounsly fabricated withminimal pilot plant studies.The plant, which wascommissioned in 1964 withinthe scheduled time and cost,established the capability andcredibility of Indian engineersinternationally. The plantoperation offered anopportunity to solve manychallenges and providedvaluable inputs to designsubsequent reprocessingplants.

Reprocessing Development Laboratory construction in 1974

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for future plants. Thus, theinfrastructure for carrying outengineering scale R&D in non-radioactive as well as radioactiveconditions was realised in theconceptualization itself. Accordingly,the reprocessing programmes wereformulated

Reprocessing DevelopmentLaboratory Goes Hot

With the completion ofconstruction of RDL and with all theinfrastructure available, clearancewas obtained for commissioning thelaboratory with Pu in 1980s. The firstlot of plutonium needed for initialphase of R&D work in the Center wastransported to Kalpakkam. Thisoperation enabled training in Puhandling by personnel of RDL.Simulation experiments with mixersettler were carried out with theproposed fast reactor processflowsheet conditions with a 16 stagemini mixer settler. The results gaveconfidence to adopt the flowsheetfor the hotcell conditions.

U233 Campaigns precede Pu239

CampaignsWhen C.V Sundaram, the then

Director of the Centre askedG.R.Balasubramaniam to undertakethe separation of U233 from CIRUS J-Rods, for the Kalpakkam MINI reactor(KAMINI), G.R. Balasubramanianaccepted the challenging task, as

extraction of Pu rich nitric acidsolution, critically safe batch typepulsed thermosyphon and continuousrotary dissolvers, high speed feedclarification centrifuges, shortresidence time centrifugalcontactors, air pulsed type mixersettlers for extraction cycles with lowdoses to solvents and diluents, fuelwrapper cutting systems, single andmultipin choppers, continuousprecipitators, feed metering devicesetc. Since high concentrations of Puwere to be handled, remotemaintenance constituted the corefeature of the design. While evolvinga candidate process flow sheet, it wasdecided to avoid heating ofplutonium rich aqueous solutions.These solutions were known toinvariably carry entrained anddissolved solvents that could lead tosafety related problems. Thedifficulties that were likely to beencountered when handlingplutonium loaded TBP solvent werealso identified as an area of concern.For high integrity, containment boxeswith concrete or lead shielding wereconceived. With stress on remotemaintenance, cell design becameradically different from the hot cellsused for thermal reactor fuelreprocessing. Thus, remote handlingequipment such as manipulators,remote viewing cameras, shieldedwindows etc., were also identified fordevelopment, in synergy with effortsof BARC.

It was quite clear, right from thebeginning, that approaches to thethermal and fast reactor fuelreprocessing are quite differentthough the same solvent is being usedin both the plants. The difference inthe routes for fast and thermalreactor reprocessing widenedfurther, when the choice of fuel forFBTR fuel was made in favour of mixedcarbide fuel of high plutonium (70%)concentration. Thus, the need for ahot cell facility was conceived fortesting of the equipment and systems,so that the process as wellequipment designs could be validated

Engineering FacilityCommissioned

The project approval forsetting up the ReprocessingDeveloping Lab (RDL) wasobtained in 1972, as a part ofthe master plan of ReactorResearch Centre. Theengineering developmentlaboratory for carrying outthe non radioactiveexperiments on theequipment and systems forqualifying deployment in hotcells with the infrastructuresuch as the radioactivelaboratory storage facility fordifferent levels and types ofliquid radio active waste andother services facilities likefilter room, plant room,workshop etc., wascompleted progressively from1976 onwards. These facilitieswere used for variousdevelopment activities. Singlesolvent extraction cycle loopwith natural uranium wasconceived, designed andinstalled in concrete cells in1980s, which provided muchneeded operationalexperience to the team,apart from testing of some ofthe equipment like air pulsedmixer settlers, meteringairlifts, dissolver, sinteredfilter and air lifts.

Dr Anil Kakodkar, Chairman-AEC visiting CORAL during erection


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supplied from the first campaign,KAMINI which is the only operatingU233 fuelled reactor in the world, isworking at high levels ofperformance.

When the reactor designers chosemixed carbide fuel with plutonium of70% concentration for FBTR, thecandidate fuel had to be assessedfrom reprocessing considerations.This type of fuel has not beenreprocessed anywhere in the world.Degree of solubility duringdissolution, complication in solventextraction due to dissolved carbonin form of organic acids and safetyperceptions due to hydrocarbons,were to be examined. The groupconsidered a few methods, such asdissolution after pyrohydrolysis orvoloxidation followed by dissolutionin nitric acid and direct dissolutionin strong nitric acid with chemicaloxidants for destruction of organicacids. Experiments with unirradiatedpellets were carried out and electro-oxidative dissolution methodology wasformulated for dissolution of thisunique fuel. Based on the results ofthese experiments, Reprocessingteam expressed confidence inreprocessing Pu rich carbide fuels.This enabled finalisation of mixedcarbide fuel rich in Pu as the driverfuel for FBTR. Based on these studiesas well as studies related to thirdphase formation, the flow sheet,prepared earlier for the previousoxide fuel was modified. Today it is amatter of immense satisfaction thatthe assessment has come true. It isto be noted that reprocessing ofspent mixed oxide fuel from powerproducing large Fast reactors, wouldnot pose such a difficulty comparedto the Pu rich mixed carbide fuel ofFBTR. Thus, it can be said that facingdifficult challenging assignments hashelped reprocessing group to developcredence and confidence to take uplarger challenges and responsibilitiesin the coming years.

By the time, the thoriumcampaigns were completed in RDL,FBTR was operating with mixedcarbide fuel with an excellent

this assignment would provide anopportunity to train the staff in , handling and validate the specialequipment developed for Fast ReactorFuel Reprocessing. V.R. Raman wastransferred from PREFRE to RDL in 1987to guide the young team in the plantoperation.

The campaign, apart fromproviding sufficient amount of U233

with the desired purity level forKAMINI reactor, provided operatingexperience and feed back to thedesigners. It was a progressive steptowards acquiring independentcapability in reprocessing of fastreactor fuel as equipment used in thiscampaign were of similar design to theones planned for fast reactor fuelreprocessing plants. The individualswho were leading the different shiftcrews in the first campaign, took upindependent responsibilities like plantdesign, plant operations, R&D andplant construction subsequently andhave risen to positions of importantresponsibilities, in Indian spent fuelreprocessing industry, today.S.R.Paranjpe who steered thePrototype Fast Breeder Reactor(PFBR), including its fuelrequirement, initiated a program fortesting PFBR MOX fuel compositionwith U233 and Pu239 in FBTR. This calledfor a second campaign ofreprocessing thorium rods. Safetyclearances were obtained to restartthe facility for the second campaignwhich was carried out with Thoriumrods from CIRUS and DHRUVA Reactor.This campaign provided newchallenges, like higher dose, difficultyin dissolving denser pellets etc. Thiscampaign had many innovativefeatures, such as the design andoperation of a temporary underwater fuel handling system to reduceradiation exposures while handlingfuel rods.

These campaigns providedopportunity for validating variousdesign philosophies that would be vitalfor fast reactor fuel reprocessing.They also aided in providing the fissilematerial required for Fast ReactorFuel Development. With the material

J-Rod campaign

Contribution to the thirdstage of Indian NuclearProgramme

The concrete cell in RDLhoused the facility. Sincethe operation was plannedto be carried out incampaign mode, whereverrequired PVC hoses wereused inside the cells also.The flow sheet alreadytested in Trombay was used.A vertical thermo-siphondissolver was designed andfabricated in RDL workshop.A few stainless steel tanksfabricated at Trombay werealso brought to RDL. Theseequipment and tanks wereinstalled in concrete cells.Centrifugal extractor witheight stages and of beltdriven bank type was usedfor the extraction. An airpulse mixer settler was usedfor stripper. Air drivencentrifuge was used for feedclarification. All solventcontactors, centrifuge,diverters, sampling systemsand sample conveyingsystems were located insidethe cell. These weredesigned for remoteoperation, maintenance andviewing. The facility took upthe reprocessing of J-Rodsin 1987. The J-Rods werebrought from CIRUS. The fuelwas transferred from thecask to the cage linersthrough a pair of remotelyoperated tongs with the helpof cameras. This is the firsttime this concept wastested under radioactiveconditions.

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operation of horizontal -tighttransfer system were accomplishedfor the first time in the country. Thedesign features of HEPA filter withoutbreaching -tightness during filterchange is unique. Quality AssuranceDivision provided the much neededquality control support duringfabrication and erection of CORALfacility.

Inactive commissioning trials withacid runs in CORAL were started in2002. The regulatory clearance for Puwith low burn-up fuel was obtainedand the plant was hot commissionedin May 2003. The first batchof irradiated fuel pins with25 GWd/t burn-up was taken insideCORAL in Dec 2003.

Successful reprocessing of 25 to50 and 100 GWd/t mixed carbide fuelis a testimony to the dedication ofthe design, operation andmaintenance teams. The designerscontinue to be involved in ensuringand accumulating safe and successfulexperiences.

Road AheadSuccessful reprocessing of highly

irradiated fuel, and the closure of thefuel cycle is a tribute to theinterdisciplinary technologicalapproach of the Centre and theDepartment. The Plant hasregistered several benchmarks ofexcellence. Versatility and flexibilityto suit challenges has been amplydemonstrated. Further, thesecampaigns have boosted theconfidence level of the entire group,conditioning them to accept tougherchallenges in the design,construction, operation &maintenance of the future fastreactor fuel reprocessing plants.

The next challenge for theReprocessing Group, is theDemonstration Fuel ReprocessingPlant (DFRP). The main objectives ofthis plant are to reprocess the fuelof FBTR on regular basis and that ofPFBR on experimental basis. Becauseof the logistics of the design, the civilconstruction of this plant was takenup along with that of KARP and wascompleted in early 1990s.

DFRP is now in advanced stage of

performance in terms of burn-upsetc., It was decided to upgrade thehot cell facility for reprocessing FBTRmixed carbide fuel. Process flowsheetas well as equipment designs had tobe validated for Fast Reactor FuelReprocessing.

Mixed Carbide Fuel Reprocess-ing in Hot Cell – CORAL is Born

With the validation of most of theequipment and system designs in J-Rod facility, the hot cell erectioncould be taken up with confidence.Initially the facility was planned forgram scale operation of irradiatedfuel, which was later enhanced to kgcapacity, when mixed carbide waschosen as the driver fuel for FBTR.Thus, Lead Mini Cell (LMC) was bornwhich was later rechristened asCORAL (COmpact Reprocessingfacility for Advanced Fuels in Leadcells).

It was decided to test all theprocess equipment developed forfast reactor fuel reprocessing in thisfacility. Also, the cell design, whichwas conceptualized for future FBRfuel reprocessing plants, is beingvalidated in CORAL facility. Thus,some of the key equipment such assingle pin chopper, dissolver,centrifugal extractors , etc, arebeing evaluated. A high speedcentrifuge similar to the one testedin J-Rod campaign, was installed withamenability for remote maintenance,after extensive testing. Thecontributions of Ashok Kumar of FastReactor Technology Group, infinalizing the rotating bowl design wascommendable. M.S. Ilangovan,provided the much needed expertisein instrumentation systems of CORAL.He validated several concepts suchas use of Programmable LogicControllers (PLC) and wasinstrumental in meeting the control& instrumentation requirements ofthe plant in a limited space and tothe satisfaction of the regulators.

The design and commissioning ofthe Pu reconversion laboratory wascompleted with the cooperation fromBARC colleagues.

The erection of in-cell crane with-tightness and the design and

Codes and Standards

With the assimilation ofknowledge, it is time to writethe codes and standards. Forreactor systems, thefabrication codes, qualitycontrol & inspectionprocedures are welldeveloped and documented.In the absence of codes andguides specific toreprocessing, the regulatorsare inclined to apply reactorcodes, though therequirements are quitedifferent. Application ofcodes in reactor systems isrelated to high temperaturebehavior of the materialcoupled with neutronfluence, whereas, thereprocessing is mostly relatedto corrosion and gammaenvironments. As therequirement of anindependent code wasrealised, a taskforce wasformed in the year 1991. Thistask force prepared the firstdesign and fabrication code asapplicable to reprocessingrequirements of fast reactorfuel reprocessing plants. Thishas been revised, updated andnow independent documentsfor several aspects of thedesign, material selection,fabrication for fuelreprocessing are available.


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N. Srinivasan initiated the fastreactor reprocessing program in theCentre to realise the vision of HomiBhabha and Vikram Sarabhai. With hisrich experience in the reprocessingtechnology, he guided the initialphase of the activities so that it couldmature to a robust technology infuture and provide necessary trainedand experienced manpower for thiscrucial activity.

C.V. Sundaram was instrumental inguiding the Reprocessing Group totake up the assignment of processingThorium rods from CIRUS andDHRUVA. This approach has providedthe much needed confidence to thegroup to embark on higher challengesof fast reactor fuel reprocessing.

S.R. Paranjpe was responsible forproviding direction to ensure that theCORAL facility is truly a pilot plant.This approach has enabled in gettingthe required plant level experiencein complete flow sheet.

Placid Rodriguez has motivatedthe group through the difficult phaseof construction and erection phaseof CORAL and DFRP by regularlyconducting project review meetings.This approach enabled the progressof the construction of the CORALfacility, and DFRP providing solutionsto problems of interdisciplinarynature.

S.B. Bhoje continued the reviewprocess and gave full support towardscompleting the constructionactivities of CORAL and DFRP.

As the Director of ReprocessingGroup from 1999 to 2005, I haveprovided the motivation to the teamfor meeting the challenges during thecommissioning phase of CORAL. AsDirector, IGCAR from 2004, several taskforces have been constituted withthe best experts in the centre to bringsynergy among different groups of theCentre with the purpose of makingIGCAR, a mature organization in fastreactor fuel reprocessingtechnology.

Fast Reactor Fuel Reprocessing–Mission of IGCAR

A full fledged R&D team is carryingout process modeling, equipmentdevelopment for the DFRP and futureFast Reactor Reprocessing Plants.

erection. Most of the design optionsare closed since CORAL experienceson many issues are available.Wherever inevitable retrofitting isbeing done in the light of operationalexperience of reprocessing FBTR fuelin CORAL. The plant has flexibility totake up the reprocessing of PFBR fuelsubassemblies on demonstrationscale, since large scale experiencewith irradiated mixed oxide fuel isessential for optimizing the design andoperational parameters for largescale reprocessing of PFBR fuel.

Human ResourcesRobust Technology is based on

rigorous science and the synergy ofcross-disciplinary engineering effortsin challenging situations. Knowledgeacquired by the Reprocessing groupin designing, operating andmaintaining CORAL, is gettingenhanced through largecollaboration with groups within theCentre, DAE, Universities and otherResearch Institutes.

Coordination With OtherGroups of IGCAR & Other Unitsof DAE

Success of reprocessingprogramme is a closely woven fabricof teamwork within the group atvarious levels. The limited manpowerhas provided adequate challengesand motivated our colleagues to playmore than one role. All Directors ofthe Centre, starting from the founderdirector N. Srinivasan andsubsequently C.V. Sundaram, S.R.Paranjape, Placid Rodriguez and S.B.Bhoje have provided crucial supportto the activities of the group.

Compact Reprocessingfacility for Advanced Fuels

(CORAL)

CORAL facility is a unique hotcell with an -tightcontainment box. All theoperations involving opensolution handling are carriedout inside the containmentbox. All the process tanks arekept below the containmentbox. shielding is providedby lead bricks. The facilityhas about 2 kms of piping withmore than 3000 bends and2000 radiography qualifiedweld joints. With more than500 penetrations in thecontainment box,commissioning of CORAL wasindeed a challenge, sincelocating the leaks duringvacuum hold tests, was a realchallenge, with the leadbricks around. As the boxleak tightness wasprogressively increased,detection of very small leaksproved to be a very difficulttask. The interactionsbetween those involved indesign and erection werevery interesting as very littleinformation on this type ofnovel plant is available. Thereused to be many 11 ‘O’ Clockmeetings’ in which alldesigners and erectionengineers took active part tothrash out all issues to arriveat expeditious decisions.Many innovative ideascrystallized in thosemeetings.

CORAL goes hot – Irradiated fuel pins taken into the cell in 2003

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The PFBR reprocessing plant is a partof integrated fast reactor fuel cyclefacility, being set up at Kalpakkam toclose the fuel cycle. A mega challengeto the Reprocessing Group of IGCARis to design and operate the plantfor reprocessing spent fuel from thePFBR matching with the dischargerates of PFBR spent fuel. It is a greatopportunity to provide thetechnology for the recovery, meetspecifications of the product and intight time schedule. Many innovativetargets such as fissile materialmonitoring by neutron interrogation,non invasive fissile material analysiswith K-edge X-ray densitometry,actinide and group partitioning of highactive raffinate streams etc. are beingpursued for implementation in FastReactor Fuel Reprocessing Plants.The aim is to develop a robust sciencebased technology for thereprocessing of fast reactor oxidefuels.

All the groups of IGCAR, namely,Chemistry Group, Metallurgy andMaterials Group, Reactor EngineeringGroup, Electronics and Instrumenta-tion Group and the Safety Group havegiven their unstinted support for allthe reprocessing group activities andenabled successful completion ofvarious reprocessing campaigns inCORAL, design and construction ofDFRP and design of fuel reprocessingplant for PFBR.

Fast Reactor Fuel Reprocessing– Now a national mission

Central Workshop, of BARC gavesubstantial support for the remotehandling equipment development. Thedevelopment of special motors andlaser systems for inspection ofdissolver and dismantling of fuelsubassembly, development of coatedanodes for electro oxidativedissolution are a few notablecontributions by the nationalinstitutes. A large number of privateindustries have participated infabrication of special equipment suchas centrifugal extractors, remotehandling equipment and othersophisticated systems.

ConclusionAll the challenging research work

of the Reprocessing group cannot bepublished because of the strategic

Reprocessing Changes GearTechnology development

concurrently withRegulatory clearances for

CORAL

Safety reviews and regulatoryclearances of emergingtechnologies is always achallenging task. Initial safetyreviews with A.K. Ganguly,leading the safety reviewteam, had the holisticapproach to the regulatorypractices, namely, vision ofgrowth of science withoutlosing the respect for thesafety. He was a uniqueleader who motivated andinspired his colleagues forexcellence. Subsequently,T.N. Krishnamony L.V.Krishnan, A.R. Sundararajanand V.M. Raghunath pursuedhis approach.

CORAL being a first of a kindof plant, Atomic EnergyRegulatory Board (AERB)accorded stage-wiseclearances. The clearancefor commissioning was givenbased on therecommendation by safetyreviews conducted by AERBcommittee withA.R.Sundararajan as theConvener. This team wassupported by various workinggroups, which carried outdetailed safety analyses inspecific areas such as fuelhandling, process,laboratory, radiologicalsafety and ventilation.

Once the plant wentoperational, Safety ReviewCommittee for OperatingPlants along with IGCARsafety committee carried outsafety reviews. Clearanceswere given in steps ofincreasing levels ofradioactivity starting withpins with very low burn-upto those of burn-up upto100 GWD/t. The campaignswere successfullyconducted achieving goodproduct purity andconcentration of Pu withquality levels meeting thespecifications acceptable forthe refabrication.

nature of the work. Still there aremore than 300 publications in national,international journals, conferences,IGCAR reports, inspection guides andcodes, which bears the testimony tothe documentation of work and apolicy of sharing science andtechnology, nationally andinternationally.

The success of the fast reactorfuel reprocessing is not only due tothe efforts of the group but also dueto the synergy of many experts andtheir experiences, provided bydiverse groups at IGCAR, other unitsof DAE as well as national researchinstitutes, academia and industries.

In India, public support forreprocessing technology for fastbreeder reactor fuels is one strongreason for steady progress.Breakthroughs based on science andexperiences, have been obtained.We have gained experience based onsuccessful reprocessing of the novelindigenous mixed carbide fuel ofuranium and plutonium of high burn-up in our plant, for the first time inthe world. We have made aninternational benchmark. Thepresent team in the ReprocessingGroup, IGCAR has matured to facethe future challenges and are workingwith commitment and passion.

One is reminded of the quotationof Robert Frost which Pandit Nehruhad on his table: “woods are lovely,dark and deep. I have promises to keepand miles to go before I sleep”. It isseen when you work with faith,dedication and mission that Godhonours your smart work, though henormally takes time.

Science, technology, manage-ment, inspiration, strategy, missionand vision are the importantingredients of this challenging and attimes unchartered path. We are allconvinced that our country needsthis success and we deem it as thedistinct honour to provide thissuccess to India.

The Reprocessing Group of thisCentre is confident of meeting thechallenges with elegance.

(Baldev Raj)Director


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taking into consideration the rangesof concentration of nitric acid usedin the plant, temperature ofoperation, impurities and redoxchemicals present and themetallurgical state of the materialsused in the reprocessing plants. Inthe plant, acid is transferred fromone component to another afterevery operation. Thus there is aneed to evaluate the flow inducedcorrosion properties of the materialsto be used in the plant. Componentgeometries and high temperatureboiling also induces turbulence in

nuclear fuel reprocessing plantswhen they were used in HNO3

medium beyond 8N concentrationand temperatures beyond 353K. Thefailures have been attributed to (i)intergranular corrosion due tosensitization, (ii) intergranularcorrosion due to impuritiessegregation at grain boundaries, (iii)transpassive dissolution of passivefilms, and (iv) selective corrosion ofwelds.

Comprehensive corrosionassessment of AISI type 304L by ASTMA 262 practice C test is impossible,

A s a consequence of themultiplicity of corrosionphenomena involving various

parameters and mechanisms, thenumber of potential corrosiontesting methods is large and testprocedures have to be carefullydesigned to generate reliable anduseful data. Test facilities to simulatethe plant operating conditions withrespect to the corrosiveness of theprocess fluids and other processparameters, have been built andcorrosion assessment been made forthe reprocessing plant materials atIGCAR.

Corrosion resistance propertiesrequired for materials to be used inthe various developments of thePurex process are crucial in the fieldof nuclear fuel reprocessing, sinceequipment inspection,decontamination, repair orpremature replacement would resultin procedures much morecomplicated than in conventionalchemical industries.

Austenitic stainless steels arewidely used in components of fuelreprocessing plants because of theirgood corrosion resistance to thesolutions encountered. However,several incidences of failures ofcomponents made of AISI type 304LSS have been reported in spent Fig. 1 : Schematic of the MINIL test facility

Simulated CorrosionTesting Facilities for

ReprocessingPlant Materials

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in the MINIL facility. The velocity ofthe flow was varied from 0.42 m/s to1.01 m/s in steps. It was observedthat acid flow had a significant effecton the corrosion behaviour of type304L SS. In the case of the flowingacid at a velocity of 0.42 m/s, thepassive current was marginally higherand also the passive to transpassivetransition occurred at a lowerpotential compared to that in thestatic condition (Fig. 2). Also, in boththe cases secondary passivationcould be observed at a potential ofabout 1V, though in the case offlowing medium the secondarypassivation current density was oneorder of magnitude less as comparedto the static condition. The motionof the electrolyte thins quiescentpassive layers at the metal surfaceso that corrosive species could easilyreach the metal. Corrosion rateswere found to increase from 0.004mpy to 0.373 mpy with increase invelocity from 0.42 m/s to 1.01 m/s(Reynolds Number from 2824 to 6791)as shown in Fig. 2.

It is well known that the oxidelayer (Cr2O3) formed on the surfaceof stainless steel protects it fromcorrosion. In a flowing medium, ahydrodynamic boundary layer isestablished adjacent to the metalsurface. When corrosion takes place,

the system which can influence thecorrosion properties of austeniticstainless steels. Also, in thereprocessing plants, mixingoperations are extensively usedduring solvent extraction for mixingof aqueous and organic liquids. Inthe centrifugal extractors very highrpm’s are used for effectiveseparation of the organic andaqueous phases. All these operationsintroduce high level of turbulencein the liquid phase, which lead todifferent corrosion mechanisms.

These limitations of the currentapproach motivated us to designdynamic simulated testing systemsnamely the Mini Loop (MINIL), NitricAcid Loop (NAL) and the HighTemperature High Concentrationtest systems (HTHC). The detailedfeatures of these systems and theresults obtained so far from thesesystems are presented in this article.

2.0 MINI LOOP ( MINIL)A special laboratory scale test

facility, MINIL (Mini Nitric acid Loop),has been established at CSTD for thetesting of the materials underflowing condition (Fig. 1). Thespecial features of this facility arethe flexibility of controlling the flowrate of the medium to the requiredrate and also controlling thetemperature of the medium up to amaximum of 348 K. The specimenswere fixed in a manner such thatthe face of the specimen is parallel(flushed) to the flow direction. Theflow was in a rectangular slit of size10 mm x 2 mm through the PTFEholder. Electrochemical polarisationexperiments were carried out in thisfacility using nitric acid of 1Mconcentration at different flow rates(velocities) namely 0.42 m/s, 0.61 m/s, 0.74 m/s, 0.88 m/s and 1.01 m/s(Reynolds Number of 2824, 4102,4976, 5917 and 6791 respectively) inorder to study the effect ofincreasing flow rate on the corrosionof type 304L SS.

2.1 Effect of flowPotentiodynamic polarisation

tests were carried out in 1M HNO3

the Cr2O3 oxide layer dissolves intothe nitric acid and the rate of thisoxide layer removal is controlled bythe rate of diffusion of this speciesthrough the boundary layer of theacid near the surface into the bulkacid. This diffusion (or masstransport) of chromium away fromthe surface depends directly on theconcentration of soluble species atthe oxide surface and inversely onthe thickness of boundary layer.When the flow changes from laminarto transition and then to turbulentflow, the boundary layer thicknessreduces. Thus, a decrease of theboundary layer thickness due toincreased acid flow rate or becauseof local turbulence, causes anincrease in corrosion rate.

3.0 NITRIC ACID LOOPA 400 litre capacity dynamic nitric

acid loop has been designed andconstructed at IGCAR, Kalpakkam forevaluating the corrosionperformance of candidate materialsover long operating periods underplant simulated conditions (Fig.3).Corrosion resistance of the materialsin different metallurgical conditions,namely, cold worked, solutionannealed, sensitized, alloycomposition, etc. will be evaluatedin this loop in flowing nitric acid atdifferent flow velocities (upto

Fig 2: Anodic polarisation curves for 304L SS in 1N HNO3 at different flow velocities at RT.


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1.55 m/s) and temperatures ( 313,333, 353, 380 K and vapour phase).The data generated over a longperiod of exposure ( up to 10,000 h)would be used to arrive at anacceptable corrosion rate for AISItype 304L SS used for applicationsin nitric acid service. The availabilityof such a reliable and useful datawill be helpful in predicting theremnant life of the componentsused in the reprocessing plants bydeveloping suitable analytical andmodeling tools of the corrosionprocesses.

Currently, the loop is operatingwith AISI type 304L SS samples ofsolution annealed, sensitized ( 675oC/1h ) and welded conditions, used indemonstration fast reactorreprocessing plant (DFRP) along withindigenous NAG 304L SS (from M/sMIDHANI). Results obtained after100,250,500, 1000, 2x1000, 3x1000 hand 4x1000 h of operation indicatedthat the samples showed very lowcorrosion rates at all temperaturesof testing. Non-destructive testingof the samples using eddy currentand ultrasonic methods did notreveal any significant defects on thesurface of the samples investigated.Examination of the tested samplesby scanning electron microscopy(SEM) showed the grain boundaryattack, and the samples tested invapour phase condition showedsignificant deposits on the surfaces.

It is proposed to continue testingof samples up to 10,000 h ofexposure. The long term operationof the loop and the resultantcorrosion data of the materials, willprovide valuable information on thelife and performance of the actualcomponents in the operating plants,and in qualifying materials underrealistic conditions for reprocessingplant applications.

Results of the AISI 304L SSsamples in different metallurgicalconditions exposed to 6N nitric acidfor 4850 hours under flowingconditions at a velocity of 1.25 m/sindicated an average corrosion rateof about 12 mpy at boilingtemperature (Fig.4). The corrosionrates at lower temperatures of 80oC

and 60oC were 0.4 mpy and 0.03 mpyrespectively.Though flowing acid isseen to accelerate the corrosionrate of AISI 304L stainless steelspecimen, the average corrosionrate is still within the acceptablelimits. Samples of nitric acid grade(NAG) 304L SS showed much lowercorrosion rates under similaroperating conditions. The averagecorrosion rates were found to be inthe range of 6.5 mpy under boilingconditions. The SEM images of theexposed DFRP & NAG SS samplesupto 4850 h (Fig.5) in boiling andvapour phases showed progressiveintergranular mode of corrosionattack indicating that IGC wascommon mode of attack. Theanalysis of the loop acid after eachcampaign indicated an increase inthe concentrations of the corrosionproducts, namely, Fe, Cr and Ni ions.The rate of increase of thesecorrosion products was in directcorrelation to the corrosion rate ofthe specimen (Fig. 6 ). As can be seenthe corrosion rates directly followthe Fe concentration profile in theloop acid. It is an indication that theloop material is also corrodingleading to the increase in thecorrosion product concentration.This also simulates the actual plantcondition, where in the corrosionproducts from the SS fuel clad andequipments can have an influenceon the corrosion of the subsequentplant components.

Fig.3: Schematic flow diagram of the nitric acid loop

Fig.4 : Corrosion rates of AISI 304L SS exposed to flowing 6N HNO3 at different temperatures.

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Fig.5 : SEM micrographs of AISI 304L SS specimen exposed to flowing 6N nitric acid at boilingtemperature after 250h, 2850h, 3850 h and 4850 h.

4.0 HIGH TEMPERATURE HIGHCONCENTRATION TESTSYSTEMS

In a fast reactor fuelreprocessing plant, higherconcentrations of nitric acid (11.5M) under boiling conditions are usedfor fuel dissolution unlike in thethermal reactor fuel reprocessingplants. Since stainless steels areprone to higher corrosion in suchconditions, materials like titanium,zirconium and their alloys areconsidered for such applications.However, these materials undergospecific corrosion problems in theplant, though they exhibit excellentcorrosion resistance in nitric acidmedium. One such condition is thehigh corrosion rates observed inTitanium in the concentration range~ 40-55% and also under condensingacid conditions. Zirconium has beenreported to be susceptible to stresscorrosion cracking in nitric acidmedium under specific operatingconditions.

In order have a greaterunderstanding of the corrosionmechanism in these alloys and alsoto test candidate materials underplant simulated conditions, two testfacilities have been set up at IGCAR(Fig. 7 ). One system is made of CPtitanium Grade-2 with provision forexposing test samples to boiling nitricacid in liquid, vapour andcondensing conditions. Provision isalso made to test corrosionmonitoring techniques based onLaser Raman Spectroscopy andelectrochemical noise as onlinecorrosion monitoring tools.

The second system made ofZircaloy-4 material has beenfabricated using the electron beamwelding technique at NFC,Hyderabad. In this vessel provisionis made for exposing zirconium basedtest samples for their corrosionproperty evaluation. Both thesystems have been commissioned atCSTD and testing of the first set ofsamples is in progress.

(Reported by V.R. Raju, R.K. Sole,U. Kamachi Mudali, R.K. Dayal

Corrosion Science & TechnologyDivision, MMG)Fig. 7: Titanium Gr-2 and Zircaloy–4 Corrosion testing systems

Fig.6 : Change in the corrosion rate and elemental concentration of corrosion products in the acidwith time of exposure


IGCNEWSLETTER

The 21st century is ushering ina new phase of economic andsocial development which can

be referred to as “KnowledgeEconomy”, in which knowledge is thekey factor in determining theorganization’s economic success orfailure.

Knowledge Management isdefined as a conscious strategyimplemented in an organization tocreate, gather, store anddisseminate the knowledge to thosewho need it in a timely manner toachieve organization goals.Knowledge Management has createda paradigm shift in the thinking that“Knowledge is Power to KnowledgeSharing is Power”. Strength of theorganization comes from effectivelycombining knowledge with thetechnological advances and thecreative capacities of it’s employees.

It is needless to emphasize thatin R&D Organizations like IGCARinvolved in complex and demandingtechnologies, the knowledge isconsidered as an asset as much asfacilities and human resources. Thestrategy is to convert this knowledgein to the intellectual capital andleverage it for competitive advantageand achieving our mission.

We, in our Policy incorporateboth the forms of Knowledge viz.

explicit and tacit knowledge. Explicitknowledge is in the form of designreports, training manuals, log books,journal publications, internal reportsetc. Tacit knowledge is in the mindsof the people as experiences,observations etc. It is well knownthat capturing and managing thetacit knowledge is a much biggerchallenge.

In IGCAR, we are leveraging theKnowledge Management Policy toachieve the following:

· Raising the quality of work bymaking available the rightknowledge to the right peopleat the right time by reducing thesearch for the right information.

· Improving the productivitythrough higher level of reusewithout redoing, relearning etc.

· Meeting growing demands byrecruiting people and trainingthem in the shortest time.

· Meeting the targets andachieving the mission, in spite ofemployee attrition.

· Managing task forces by collatingworkers from differentenvironments.

Knowledge ManagementStrategy for IGCAR:

Knowledge Management strategyof IGCAR is structured around the

answers for the basic questions. a)Where are we now? b) where dowe want to be? and c) How do weget there ?

IGCAR being a more homogenousCentre, the knowledge resourcesand needs are well understood. Theknowledge flow in the organizationis known and requires an openapproach. Appropriateauthentication systems for accessingconfidential information are beingimplemented.

The management’s vision is toachieve world class leadership in thefields of Fast Reactor Technologyand associated fuel cycles throughthe synergy of knowledge,resources, facilities and employeesand use it for higher productivity andquality.

To achieve this a vibrantKnowledge Management Policy isessential.

Knowledge Management Policyfor IGCAR:

IGCAR is a front line R&DOrganization working in variousadvanced areas of Science andTechnology with a lot of in housedevelopments and innovations. Alsothe knowledge / information createdhas a longer life cycle.

About 1640 employees who had

KnowledgeManagement

Policy for IGCAR


IGCNEWSLETTER

grown with the centre andcontributed significantly to thedevelopment of various programmeshad superannuated/voluntarilyretired/resigned from RRC/IGCARfrom it’s inception till date. It isknown that about 450 of ouremployees would superannuate inthe coming 5 years and about 880employees would superannuate inthe coming 10 years. With them theinvaluable expertise, experience andthe knowledge would be lost fromthe organization. Hence, adoptingand implementing a KnowledgeManagement policy is veryimportant.

Knowledge ManagementPolicy:

The Knowledge ManagementPolicy of IGCAR is formulated asbelow :

“Indira Gandhi Centre forAtomic Research (IGCAR) willconsistently endeavor throughconcerted efforts of all it’semployees to generate, archive,manage and disseminate thevaluable Knowledge for improvingit’s productivity and achieve &sustain world class Leadership in allit’s Scientific & TechnologicalResearch and Developmentactivities.”

The Knowledge ManagementPolicy in IGCAR is implemented withthe participation of all theemployees, management guidanceand support. A mechanism is workedout(a model is given below) and isimplemented by all Divisions/Sectionsfor collecting, codifying anddisseminating the knowledge whichis in the form of both Explicit andImplicit forms. Efforts are made tocodify and archive the knowledgegenerated by various groups fromthe inception of the Centre. Thishelps in reusing the valuableknowledge and avoiding redoing &relearning, thus improvingproductivity. These efforts go inparallel with the management ofknowledge being generated now.The knowledge generated in various

groups and through collaborationsis being effectively utilized toachieve the mission of the centreas depicted in Fig. 1. The KnowledgeManagement Policy will be reviewedevery year to find out anyinadequacies and to strengthen thestrategies for successfulimplementation of the KnowledgeManagement Policy.

At IGCAR we concentrate onboth the forms of knowledge viz.a) Explicit Knowledge b) TacitKnowledge.

Explicit Knowledge:The explicit knowledge is in the

form of design reports, internalreports, training notes, journalpublications etc. This knowledge isbeing collected and stored in theform of IGC Information ManagementSystem (http://igcims) and therespective Information ManagementServers of the groups. Theknowledge which is available in theform of hard copy design reports,training manuals, publications etc.are scanned and converted in toelectronic form and then stored inthe respective servers. Most of theFBTR design reports, trainingmanuals and publications prior toabout 1990 are in hard copy form

only. Hence all these documentsare converted in to electronic formin “Mission mode” and archived inthe servers. The present System ofInformation Management servers foreach group is being taken forwardand implemented more effectively.Towards this, every Division / Grouphas a Knowledge ManagementOfficer designated, who will ensurethat all the information generatedis documented, stored in theservers and disseminated. Atpresent, the InformationManagement System Committeemembers are collecting and storingthe information in the respectivegroup servers and the system isworking fine.

The Heads of the Divisions ensurethat all the project proposals,results, reports are documented.This shall include both successstories and otherwise. All theemployees are encouraged todocument all their efforts in the formof internal reports / publications.

Authentication of ExplicitKnowledge:

Since we already have a systemof checking and approving thedesign reports, publications etc. thisinformation does not require special

Fig. 1 : Knowledge Melting Pot at IGCAR


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month where knowledge transfertakes place and the presentationwhich was made will be archivedin the information managementserver.

c) The Section / Division head shallprepare precise and incisivequarterly progress reports ofactivities, results, achievementsand failures etc. and post themin the information managementservers.

d) The quality circles areencouraged and thedeliberations recorded andstored.

e) The employees are encouragedto publish all their work /findings. If some of these worksare not published in the standardjournals, they can be in the formof Internal Reports. It is alsoplanned to start at IGCAR aninternal e-journal portal indifferent disciplines wherevarious unpublished works willbe posted. Also employees canforward their ideas , suggestionsand problems which are relevantto the Centre’s mission to theeditors of this e-journal forporting.

f) A scheme is planned to collectthe expertise and the knowledgefrom the employees retiring andretired in the form of reports,interviews, guest lectures etc.The Divisions will start the processof collecting this information atleast a few months before theemployee retires.

Authentication of TacitKnowledge:

Verification for the correctnessof the tacit knowledge beingcodified is very essential. Thepresentations made by theemployees in the Division meetings/ colloquiums can be authenticatedafter the lecture throughdiscussions and the correctedversion will be put on theinformation management server.

authentication. However, DivisionHeads will ensure that the correctrevision of the report or publicationis posted on the information server.

Tacit Knowledge:

Collecting the Tacit Knowledge,codifying it and storing requires lotof efforts. But with concertedefforts of all the employees, it isachievable.

Nonaka and Takeuchi advise thateffective organizational knowledgecreation best occurs through a spiralprocess of socialization,externalization, combination andinternalization and through thisprocess, the tacit knowledge isconverted to explicit knowledge.The following system is planned forIGCAR to bring out the knowledge,expertise which is in the minds ofthe people and document it.

a) Every Division will conduct atechnical lecture program forone hour every week on aspecific day, where an employeeshall explain the results of thefindings, the methodologyfollowed, the problems faced,the way they were overcome,the reasons for the optionswhich he chose to solve theproblem. This way theknowledge which is in the mindsof the people and which isotherwise not documented willcome out. The employee shallbe encouraged to give salientpoints of his talk in the form of adocument. This document orthe power point presentation willbe stored in the informationmanagement server.

b) Every discipline / domain shallhave a colloquium like ChemistryColloquium, MetallurgyColloquium, ComputersColloquium, ElectronicsColloquium etc. (some of themalready exist and are active).The employees from respectivedomain will be encouraged to givea technical lecture in thecolloquium at least once in a

Various Groups of Experts inevery domain like Physics, Chemistry,Metallurgy, Electronics, Computers,Reprocessing etc. will be formedto codify the knowledge collectedfrom the employees (retiring /retired) in the form of lectures,reports and publications to e-journals. The editorial board of thee-journal will forward the articlesto these expert groups forauthentication.

In case, any of the findings /knowledge are not sufficientlybacked by analysis/experiments ,the information will be ported on tothe server depending on itsrelevance in a folder called“observations”.

Dissemination of Knowledge :A clear policy for the

dissemination of the knowledgeamong the employees is planned. Allthe Information Management Serversare connected to the CampusIntranet of the Centre and areaccessible only to it’s users. Thisinformation is not accessible to theInternet Users. The publications,general information, news about theachievements of the Centre , otherutility information like user manuals,Accounts and Administration formsetc. would be available to all theemployees.

The knowledge like Designreports, Training Manuals, Internalreports etc. are made available tothose employees on “Need toKnow” basis. Proper authenticationmechanisms through Finger PrintReader ,User Id/Password etc. areplanned to ensure that only theauthorized users have access andthat to for the requiredinformation. A special system wouldbe worked out to archive“confidential” information anddisseminate it to the selectedauthorized employees throughproper authentication mechanism.These authentication mechanismswould be audited periodically likewhat is done for networkinformation security.


IGCNEWSLETTER

Motivation for Sharing theKnowledge:

Contribution of every employeetowards Knowledge Managementinitiative in the form of divisionallectures, presentations in thecolloquium, contributions to internale-journals will be permitted to bereported in the confidential reports,in addition to the journalpublications, design reports etc. Acertificate of appreciation is givenby the organization to theKnowledge Workers who havecontributed significantly.

Conclusion:Knowledge Management plays a

pivotal role in shaping the destinyof any organization in thischallenging world of technologicalchanges, requirement for fasterdesign cycles, employee attritionetc. However, it is a challenging taskworth taken ,to change the mindsetof the people to share theknowledge instead of hoarding it. Itis possible to achieve the objectivewith the cooperation of allemployees and support and guidancefrom the Management. Theemployees are encouraged to sharethe knowledge and those who makesignificant contributions will be

acknowledged and appreciated in aclear manner.

Suitable hardware and softwaretechnologies exist for smoothimplementation. An empoweredtaskforce is entrusted with theresponsibilities to identify andcommission the hardware andsoftware required (in the form ofservers, software packages, newtools for storing and retrieving theinformation).

The Project will certainlysucceed with the participatorysupport of all the stake holders fromemployees to the management atdifferent hierarchies.

(S.A.V.Satya Murty, P.Swaminathan,Electronics & Instrumentation Group)

enabling a complete realisation of asingle fcc-austenite region, andfinally

(iii) the reversetransformation on cooling, which inturn is considerably affected by thecooling rate, in addition to theholding time at the homogenisationtemperature. It must be remarkedthat there is no simple way toenumerate a straightforwardstrategy to do a parametricmodelling of the homogenisationtreatment taking due account of allthe key factors, for each one ofthese sub issues in themselvesdeserves a detailed study. Thepresent report intends to highlightsome of the less well-known aspectsconnected with the kinetics of solid state transformation in lowcarbon, moderately alloyed ironalloys. The experimental techniqueinvolved in Differential ScanningCalorimetry (DSC), which for thepresent purpose may be defined asa sensitive calorimetric device,intended to provide accurateestimates of transformationtemperatures and energies, besidesoffering useful estimates of thereaction kinetics.

In Fig. 1, a typical DSCthermogram of a 9Cr-1Mo-0.1C (all in

The (bcc) to (fcc)transformation in steels: someless well-known basic aspects of atechnologically important solid-state transformation

taken to a suitable high temperaturesingle phase region and kept at thistemperature for sometime, beforefinally cooled to room temperature.Albeit routinely carried out in labsand industries alike with quitereproducible end results, thephysical phenomena behind this stepare rather complex, and in a sense,not yet fully understood. The reasonbeing, three possibly synergistic subissues are involved in the realisationof a good homogeneous cast orwrought steel. They are:

(i) the transformation thattakes place upon crossing the bcc/fcc stability domain during heating,

(ii) concurrent dissolution ofcarbides (and other phasesdepending on composition) and itsindirect effect in subtly modifyingthe transformation kinetics in

Steels, as a class of engineeringmaterials are unique in many ways.Not withstanding their extensiveindustrial appeal, they are alsostorehouses of many an interestingphysical phenomenon spanningdiverse length and energy scales.The present report deals with onesuch issue that is generic to almostall grades of low carbon steelsincluding the Cr-Mo variety that isof interest to reactor technology.

It is well known that steels derivetheir properties from material orapplication specific heat treatments;the foremost of all such treatmentsis the so-called homogenisation orsolutionising step, in which thestarting ingot or the raw piece fromthe melting shop characterised bysevere compositional andmicrostructural inhomogeneity, is


IGCNEWSLETTER

From a materials physics point ofview, the possibility of superheatingof alpha ferrite by employing fasterheating rates suggests that at hightemperatures, when the non-equilibrium overly heated ferrite isfinally relieved of its instability, ittransforms in a catastrophic mannerto austenite, the transformationmode in this case being distinctlydifferent from the normal one. Thisagain has a telling industrialimplication in that the austenite soformed is highly inhomogeneous(defeating the very purpose ofhomogenisation) and withconsiderable stress built up due tovolume mismatch, the resultingproduct is prone to cracking uponcooling. One added problem is thatthe carbide dissolution is seldomrealised under very fast heating. Thisbrings us to the second less well-known or appreciated aspect of

transformation and this has todo with heating rate dictatedreaction kinetics.

In figure 3, a cryptic portrayal ofthe transformation kinetics ishighlighted. The coordinates of theplot are ln( /TP

2) and 1000/RTP. stands for the heating rate and TP

for the corresponding peaktransformation temperature. For thepurpose at hand, it is not necessary

dependence of the transformationtemperatures is strongly nonlinear,as exemplified in figure 2. Theimportant point that emerges fromthis graph is that the existencedomain of two phase mixture iswidened for higher heating rates.The practical implication of this pointis that higher homogenisationtemperatures are needed, if fasterheating rates are employed in theindustrial homogenisation process.Processes like laser annealing etc.,involves fast heating and cooling aswell.

wt.%) steel that is taken during atypical heating and cooling scheduleis shown. Two transformation peakscorresponding respectively to themagnetic transformation (ferromagnetic to paramagnetic change atthe curie point) and the -bcc ferrite+ carbides -fcc austenitestructural change are readilyapparent. Focussing on the latterphase transformation, it may be saidthat in pure iron, this structuralchange occurs at a singletemperature. But in Fe-0.1 %C alloys,the presence of carbon, opens upthe two phase field quite a bitand this induces a phasetransformation domain rather thana sharp transition point. In steelmetallurgy, this transformation starttemperature is known as Ac1, and thepossible transformation finish orarrest temperature is known as Ac3.It is useful to note that both Ac1 andAc3 are really kinetic quantities, inthe sense that at very low rates ofheating these points approach theequilibrium phase boundaries of a Fe-C phase diagram. But coming topractical experimentationpossibilities, the austenite start andfinish temperatures are very sensitiveto the heating rate, in fact, lowerthe heating rate, smaller is the valueof Ac1 and Ac3. But what is importantto note is that this heating rate

Fig. 1 : DSC thermogram of a 9Cr1Mo steel heated to 1400 oC and cooled to room temperature.The discussion focuses only on the α→γ transformation observed during heating.

Fig. 2 : The continuous heating diagram for the a®g transformation in 9Cr1Mo steel. Note thepronounced nonlinear variation of austenite start (Ac1) and finish (Ac3) temperatures withheating rate, which incidentally is represented by thin dotted lines on a time versus temperatureplot.


IGCNEWSLETTER

austenite nucleation are realised todifferent extents. The activationenergy derives in this case fromboth carbide dissolution andaustenite nucleation and growth.Finally, at very high heating rates,virtually no carbide dissolution isnoticed at all, leaving only a traceof inhomogeneous austenite that isstrewn with metastable carbides.The activation energy in this casecorresponds to that of interfacediffusion of iron atoms. Putting in anutshell, the presence of a smallfraction of carbide in the startingmicrostructure has a profoundinfluence on the heating ratesensitivity of the homogenisationstep.

Scientifically therefore, lowerheating rates are preferred; but theprocess times and the heating powerrequirements are enormously largethat they eventually eat into theoverall process economy. Fasterheating rates are commerciallyattractive and surprisingly easilyimplemented as well. Laser andpulsed direct energy related rapidheating sources are order of theday. The challenge then is to evolvean innovative hybrid of the twopossibilities to yield an economicallyviable process option. With theadvantage of hindsight gained bysystematic lab scale experiments, itis possible to evolve a pulsed orcyclic homogenisation process, inwhich a stepwise rapid heating rampis followed by a short isothermalanneal. The work piece is thenheated to the next temperatureincrement, followed by even ashorter isothermal hold. Such a seriesof rapid heating + holding steps canlead to a better as well quicker wayof realising a good homogeneousingot. It remains of course, that thedesign of such processes need bewetted by careful simulationexperiments, before the actualprocess line is initiated.

(S. Raju, B. Jeya Ganesh,E. Mohandas, M. Vijayalakshmi,

PMD, MMG)

carbon diffusion controlled process.Meanwhile, as Ac1 is approached, the

-ferrite grains slowly begin totransform into -austenite, by whatis known as small scale interfacediffusion controlled process. Thislatter process, albeit a diffusionmediated one is comparatively fasteras it involves only a few coordinatediron atoms movement across thetransformation front. This kinetics isfaster, as it is basically initiated athigher temperatures. Note thatthese two processes are concurrentand proceed with their respectivevelocities. But what is actuallymeasured as a net activation energyis a complicated sum of these twomutually influencing processes. Themanner in which they influence eachother is sensitively dependent onheating rate. For slow heating,considerable carbide dissolutiontakes place, even before theinitiation of austenite formation. Butas the heating rates go up, carbidesare rather stagnant and stubbornand only they serve as potential sitesfor austenite nucleation atappropriate temperatures. Forintermediate rates of heating, bothcarbides dissolution and subsequent

to go into the details of the physicsbehind this graph. It is sufficient toobserve that the slope of variousstraight lines in figure 3, gives ameasure of the overall activationenergy (Eact) of the primitive reactionstep involved.

As can be seen that there is ahuge difference in the activationenergies estimated for higher andlower heating rate values. In fact, itis higher for smaller range of heatingrates and a ramification of thisparadox requires a clear enunciationof the unitary steps involved in thetransformation process itself. For agiven starting piece, irrespective ofthe heating rates, industrialhomogenisation aims at achieving afully single-phase austenite, devoidof any carbide particle that can besubsequently slowly cooled to get ahomogeneous room temperaturemicrostructure. But as the sampleis getting heated during the process,two things take place. At about two-thirds of the Ac3 temperature limit,first the carbide particles begin todissolve due to the outwardmovement of carbon from thecarbide into the matrix; this carbidedissolution is necessarily a slow

Fig. 3 : The activation energy scenario for the ferrite + carbide to austenite transformation in 9Cr1Mosteel. Note that there is a natural separation in to linear domains pertaining respectively to lowand high heating rates, characterised by high and low activation energy values. The slope =n Eact, with n » 3 represents a measure of overall activation energy for the transformation.


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Young OfficersYoung OfficersYoung OfficersYoung OfficersYoung OfficersFFFFForum fororum fororum fororum fororum for

Determination of thehydrolysis products ofKBF4 in aqueous wastegenerated in the electrowinning process ofboron

Shri N. Ramanathan

The electro winning process isemployed for the productionof enriched boron, which is

converted to boron carbide andused as a control rod in PFBR. Inthis process, molten mixture of KBF4,KF and KCl is electrolysed using mildsteel cathode and graphite anode.The boron deposit obtained fromthe cathode is crushed, milled andleached with hot water to removethe residual salts from the deposit.The resultant effluent solutioncontains BF4

— and its hydrolysis

products. The determination ofboron in effluent solutions isnecessary, in view of the cost ofenriched boron and theenvironmental impact of boron.While, ion selective electrode isideal for the determination of BF4

- ,it cannot estimate boron presentas the hydrolysis products or asboric acid. Various other methodssuch as inductively coupled plasmamass spectrometry, inductivelycoupled plasma atomic emissionspectrometry are therefore usedfor the estimation of total boron.

Spectrophotometric methodsusing various dyes have beenreported for the estimation of theboron species. In these methods,complex or ion-pair formed betweenboron species and the dye isextracted into the organic phaseand boron is determined usingcalibration. In the determination of

boron as tetrafluoroborate, none ofthese methods considered thehydrolysis of BF4

-, as the analysis ofthe BF4

- solution was carried outimmediately after preparation.Hydrolysis of tetrafluoroborateresults in fluoroboric acid species,such as BF3OH-, BF2(OH)2

-, BF(OH)3-

and finally to boric acid. When theanalysis of the solution is not carriedout immediately after preparation,the concentration of the hydrolysisproducts can be expected toincrease; in such cases, neglectingthe hydrolysis products of BF4

- willresult in underestimation of boron.Therefore, the real challengeinvolves the estimation of boron ashydrolysis products.

In this study, aspectrophotometric method for thedetermination of BF4

— and itshydrolysis products is developedusing malachite green (MG) andmandelic acid (MA). BF4

— forms an ion-

pair with MG (ion-pair A). In thepresence of mandelic acid, MG formsa complex with boric acid (ion-pairB). Both the ion-pairs can beextracted into toluene for thespectrophotometric study.

Both the ion-pairs have the sameabsorption maxima at 632 nm. Theconcentration of the boron speciesin the organic phase is decided bythe distribution coefficient of theion-pairs, between the aqueous andorganic phases. In order to calculate

N. Ramanathan obtained his M.Sc(Chemistry) from St. Joseph’sCollege, Trichirapalli, Tamilnaduin 2001. He is from the 45th batchof BARC Training School andjoined IGCAR in September 2002.


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Determination of thehydrolysis products

The strength of this method isin the estimation of hydrolysisproducts. Freshly preparedtetrafluoroborate solution wasfound to have the same absorbancewhen extraction with toluene wascarried out using either MG or MA-MG whereas solutions oftetrafluoroborate which wereallowed to stand over a period oftime showed different extractionbehaviour towards these reagents.With increase in storage time of thetetrafluoroborate solution,extraction carried out using MG wasfound to show a decrease inabsorbance whereas extraction withMA-MG showed an increase inabsorbance. This behaviour indicatesthat the hydrolysis products

the distribution coefficient andmolar absorptivity, the boron in theorganic phase was back extractedinto the aqueous phase anddetermined using ICP-AES. Thedistribution coefficient of ion-pair Bwas found to be three times higherthan that of ion-pair A (Table1).

The calculated values of molarabsorptivity are same for both theion-pairs eventhough theirdistribution coefficients aredifferent. This observation indicatesthat the absorptivities in both casesare basically due to that of MG.Boron, as boric acid, can bedetermined in the range of 2 x 10-5

M – 2 x 10-4 M, while boron in theform of tetrafluoroborate has arelatively poorer detection, therange being 6 x 10-5 M – 5 x 10-4 M.

produced on standing formcomplexes with MA which wereextracted with MG. Higherabsorbance in MA-MG extractionsuggests the distribution coefficientsfor these mandelate complexes arehigher than that oftetrafluoroborate.

If the distribution coefficient andmolar absorption coefficient of thesehydrolysis products (BF3OH-,BF2(OH)2

-, BF(OH)3-) are same as that

of boric acid, then the totalconcentration of hydrolysisproducts can be convenientlydetermined by using boric acid forcalibration. Considering thedifficulty in the isolation of individualhydrolysis products (BF3OH-,BF2(OH)2

-and BF(OH)3-), the similarity

in their extraction behaviour wasfurther examined by monitoring theconcentration of total boron,tetrafluoroborate and hydrolysisproducts with time. The absorbanceof the organic phase measured withMG corresponds only to BF4

-. Usingthe KBF4 calibration plot (ion-pair A),the unhydroylsed tetrafluoroborateconcentration was calculated. Thedifference in the absorbancebetween the extractions carried outwith MA-MG and MG yields theabsorbance due to hydrolysisproducts. The concentration ofthese hydrolysis products wasestimated using calibration graph ofboric acid (ion-pair B). The measuredconcentrations of tetrafluoroborateand the hydrolysis products as afunction of time are given in Fig. 1.

As can be seen in Fig. 1,tetrafluoroborate solution stored fora day gives negligible concentrationof hydrolysis products. On furtherstorage, the concentration of thehydrolysis products increased andthe concentration of BF4

-

decreased; however the totalconcentration of boron remainsconstant. This study implies theidentical behavior between thehydrolysis products and boric acidin this extractive spectro-photometry using MA-MG. Also, thisobservation clearly suggests the

Fig. 1 Variation of concentration of boron, present as BF4-, hydrolysis products and

total boron with time.


IGCNEWSLETTER

Prof. J.A. Brum, Brazil, Dr. Baldev Raj and Dr. T. Hillie,South Africa during the meeting at IGCAR on April 6, 2007

A twelve member overseas delegation, comprising ofsix scientists from Brazil and six from South Africa led byProf. J.A. Brum and Dr. T. Hillie respectively, visited IGCARon April 6, 2007 under India-Brazil- South Africa (IBSA)initiative on Nanotechnology. Dr. Baldev Raj, Director, IGCAR,is the co-ordinator of IBSA nanotechnology initiative fromIndia. The delegation also visited Indian Institute ofTechnology (IIT), Delhi and Inter University AcceleratorCentre (IUAC), Delhi on April 2nd 2007, Bhabha AtomicResearch Centre (BARC) and Tata Institute of fundamentalResearch (TIFR) at Mumbai on April 3rd and 4th 2007 andIndian Institute of Science (IISc),Bangalore on April 5th 2006.These visits were coordinated by Indira Gandhi Centre forAtomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam on behalf of DST, India.It was ensured that experts in nanotechnology from all

Concentration values of boronmeasured in effluent solutionsamples were found to showstandard deviation of less than 5 %,confirming the good precision of thismethod. The same solutions werealso analyzed for boron using ICP-AES.The matrix effects in these effluentsample solutions were also checkedby the method of standard additionand good recoveries (96%) wereobtained. For all the samples,spectrophotometric results agreewell with ICP-AES confirming theaccuracy of this method.

(N. Ramanathan and Colleagues,Materials Chemistry Division,

Chemistry Group)Methodology of sampleanalysis

The determination of total boronin effluent solutions was carried outin two steps as given in Scheme 1.

need to estimate both BF4- and the

hydrolysis products especially whensolutions containing tetra-fluoroborate are allowed to standover a period of time.

parts of India participated in the discussions in at least one of the above mentioned centres, to present andevolve their ideas for collaborative projects under this initiative.

The IBSA nanotechnology initiative is a trilateral collaborative program between the Departments of Scienceand Technology of three participating countries, namely, India, Brazil and South Africa. The objective of thisinitiative is to formulate tri- and bilateral mega collaborative programs in the area of nanotechnology, of mutualinterests to the participating nations. The accepted priority areas of common national interest to all threecountries under this initiative include, advanced materials, energy systems, sensors, catalysis, health (TB andMalaria), water treatment, agriculture and environment.

(A. K. Tyagi, Metallurgy and Materials Group)

Visit of IBSA delegation on Nanotechnology - April 6, 2007


IGCNEWSLETTER

Processing technology andcharacterization; Mechanicalproperties; Manufacturingtechnology; NDE methods; Surfacemodification; Corrosion andComponent design, structuralintegrity and performance.

The eight themes were structuredinto 3 parallel sessions containing 10oral sessions each, in addition to aposter session containing 54 papers.The technical presentations providedthe opportunity for the delegates toappreciate the state of art R&D workongoing, facilities available withindustries for stainless steel melting,fabrication and manufacturing. Theinteraction among academia-industry-R&D laboratories also brought outareas where complementaryexpertise and facilities could beeffectively utilized. The symposiumalso brought out case studies wherethe technology developed in R&Dlaboratories was transferred toindustry for successful production ofcomponents to the stringent qualityrequirements. There is no doubt thatISAS 2007 would pave the way formany collaborative ventures betweenR&D and industry to meet futurechallenges.

A felicitation function wasconducted on 9th April evening tohonour Dr. Baldev Raj on his 60th

birthday. Dr. P.R. Vasudeva Rao madethe opening remarks highlighting thesignificant achievements andcontributions of Dr. Baldev Raj. Thiswas followed by felicitation speechesfrom Dr. P. K. Iyengar, FormerChairman, AEC, Dr. P. Rodriguez,Former Director, IGCAR, Dr. S. P.Mehrotra, Director, NML,Jamshedpur, Prof. B.S. Murthy, IIT-Madras, Dr. P. Barat, VECC, Kolkata,Prof. Frank Garner, USA, Prof. M.Kroening, Germany and Dr. S.Banerjee, Director, BARC. Dr. BaldevRaj and his family membersparticipated in the cake cuttingceremony. Dr. Baldev Raj respondedto the felicitation speeches at theend of the function.

The valedictory session of ISAS2007 was conducted on 11th Aprilevening. Dr. Farhad Tavassoli, CEA,France delivered an excellenttechnical talk on “Materials Data toDesign”. Dr. T. Jayakumar, Convenor,Technical Committee gave a briefsummary of the papers presented atthe symposium. Dr. L.K. Singhal,Director, Jindal Stainless presentedawards to the winners of besttechnical papers. Dr. K. BhanuSankara Rao, Convenor of ISAS 2007proposed vote of thanks.

(Reported by K. Bhanu Sankara Rao,Metallurgy & Materials Group)

In the technical program, about 200papers including 60 invited paperswere delivered on various topics ofimportance including science andtechnology of stainless steels,manufacturing, welding, corrosion,mechanical properties, design,codes, modeling and applications ofvarious types of stainless steels.Invited talks were delivered by expertsfrom USA, Japan, Germany, UK,France, Sweden, Australia, Korea,Finland, China, Singapore, Hong Kongand India. An exhibition comprising 35stalls with display of products,services, instruments, andapplications dealing with stainlesssteels was also organized during thesymposium.

About 400 delegates from 50industries, 35 academic institutes and40 research institutions participatedin the symposium from 12 countries.35 students working in the area ofstainless steels, for their masters anddoctoral programmes, were speciallyinvited by providing financialassistance. The symposium covereda broad spectrum of topics spanningthe entire life cycle of stainless steel- beginning from alloy design andcharacterisation; to engineeringdesign, fabrication, quality assuranceof components and finally in-serviceperformance assessment, lifeprediction and failure analysis ofmaterials and components, givinguseful feedback for furtherdevelopments for effective utilizationof this class of materials. Thetechnical programme was broadlyclassified under eight major themesincluding: Trends in alloydevelopment and applications;

An International Symposium onAdvances in Stainless Steels 2007(ISAS 2007) was organised during April9 – 11, 2007 by the Indian Institute ofMetals (IIM), Kalpakkam Chapter inassociation with Metal Sciences andFerrous Divisions of the IIM and IndiraGandhi Centre for Atomic Research,Kalpakkam, at Convention Centre,Chennai Trade Centre Complex,Chennai. The symposium wasinaugurated by Prof. E. Roos,Managing Director of MPA Stuttgart,Germany in the presence of Dr. S.Banerjee, Director, BARC, Mumbai, Dr.Baldev Raj, Director, IGCAR,Kalpakkam, Shri S.K. Jain, CMD, NPCIL,Mumbai and Dr. Sanak Misra, CEO,Mittal Steel India Ltd. on 9th April 2007.Dr. P.R. Vasudeva Rao, Co-Chairman,welcomed the invitees and delegates.Dr. K. Bhanu Sankara Rao, Convener,explained the genesis andorganization of ISAS 2007. Dr. S.Banerjee, Director, BARC and Vice-President and Chairman, MetalSciences Division of IIM delivered thepresidential address. Dr. E. Roos,Managing Director, MPA, Stuttgartlighted the Kuthuvilakku. The softcopy of proceedings and Souvenirwas released by Shri S.K. Jain, CMD,NPCIL, Mumbai, and the exhibitionwas inaugurated by Dr. Sanak Misra,CEO, Mittal Steel India Ltd., VicePresident and Chairman of FerrousDivision of IIM. Dr. Baldev Raj, Director,IGCAR Kalpakkam and immediate pastpresident of IIM who is bestowed withPadmashri Award a few days ago bythe Government of India, deliveredthe Plenary Address at thesymposium. Dr. U. Kamachi Mudali, Co-Convener, proposed vote of thanks.

International Symposium onADVANCES IN STAINLESS STEELS 2007 (ISAS 2007)

April 9-11, 2007, Convention Centre, Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai, India

Prof. E, Roos, MPA Stuttgart, lighting the lamp for inauguration of ISAS 2007. Dr. Sanak Misra, CEO,Mittal Steel Ltd., Shri S.K. Jain, CMD of NPCIL, Dr. S. Banerjee, Director, BARC, Dr. Baldev Raj, Director,

IGCAR, Dr. K.Bhanu Sankara Rao, Convener, and Dr. P.R. Vasudeva Rao, Director, MMG, are also seen.


IGCNEWSLETTER

For carrying out well coordinated rehabilitationworks in the event of any natural calamity, a two dayTraining Programme on disaster management was jointlyorganized by IGCAR and the Center for DisasterMitigation and Management, Anna University, Chennai.The members of all the rehabilitation committeesattended the training program. The members of thelocal working committee to handle radiation accidentsalso attended the training program. The trainingprogram covered topics on Emergency healthmanagement, Psycho-Care of disaster affectedcommunities, Management of man-made disasters,Coastal disaster management, etc.

The training program was inaugurated by Shri B.Bhattachargee, Member, National Disaster ManagementAuthority, Delhi. Shri Bhattacharjee explained the structure of National Disaster Management Authority andthe importance of the training program to be organized for members of various rehabilitation committees.

Shri K.Muralidhar, Member-Secretary, Crisis Management Group detailed the procedure to be followed tomitigate the crisis in the event of any calamity. Shri Muralidhar further explained the role of EmergencyResponse Centres, which are established at different parts of the country. He further emphasized the importanceof public awareness, which play a key role in the emergency preparedness, and response plans for any type ofemergency/disaster where participation/role of public is envisaged.

Shri P.R.Baidya from India Meteorological Department explained the causes for Tsunami and different typesof Tsunami warning systems which are being commissioned for India.

Prof.A.R.Santhakumar, Anna University, detailed the simple procedures to be followed to strengthen dwellinghouses to withstand earthquake or Tsunami.

Prof S.Rajarathinam, Director, CDMM, Anna University gave an overview on coastal disaster mitigation andmanagement measures.

Prof J.S.Mani from IIT(M) explained about the various turbulences in the sea and protection features to befollowed in shore.

Shri S.Vijayasekar, Dy. Director, Fire & Rescue Services, Tamilnadu explained about the procedures to befollowed in the event of major fire.

Dr.Rajendiran from Govt. Hospital, Chennai spoke at length about the emergency health management duringdisasters. He detailed about the Triage sorting of the victims, viz. Red-Critical; Yellow-Urgent; Green-Lessserious & Black-Moribund . Dr.Rajendiran further explained about the measures to be taken to revive thevictims with vivid examples.

Shri B.Asir Vijayakumar, DSP illustrated different types of man-made disasters and the method of managementof the same.

Shri N.Sathiyamurthy, Retired Home Guard spoke at length regarding role of civil defense and home guardsin disaster management.

All the lectures were well received by the participants. The audio video modules are also prepared for allthe lectures.The same will be played through cable TV to the residents of Kalpakkam and Anupuram townships.

(Reported by P.SwaminathanElectronics & Instrumentation Group)

Training Program on “Disaster Management” held atRamanna Auditorium at IGCAR, Kalpakkam during

June 22-23, 2007


IGCNEWSLETTER

Shri P. Swaminathan, Director, EIG handing over prize toone of the winners

Fire Service Week Celebration - 2007

On 14th April, 1944, a major explosion took place on board ship S.S. Fort Stikline carrying explosivesand other combustibles and berthed at Bombay Docks. The explosion and the fire that followed hadresulted in massive destruction of ships, port facilities and residential area in the neighbourhood besidesclaiming lives of over 68 fire service personnel, about 150 port personnel and unaccounted number ofcivilians. In commemoration of the precious lives lost in the event, April 14 is being observed as the FireService day and the week following the day as the Fire Service Week (FSW).

The FSW is a grim reminder of the destructive potential of fire and need for fire prevention efforts.Every year fires take a heavy toll in terms of human lives and property loss. The estimates are 25,000deaths and Rs.2, 700 crore worth property lost annually. It is expected that all sections of society,business and industry would review their fire safety needs, develop suitable strategies for fire prevention,fire control, rescue and rehabilitation and undertake a campaign for fire safety during the FSW.

In IGCAR a Fire Service Week was observed from 14th to 20th April 2007. The objective of celebrationwas to 1) create an awareness of the fire safety in all spheres of human activity, 2) Focus attention onfire prevention in work place, 3) Check operability of fire protection equipment and 4) Enable employeeto control fire effectively. The program was attended by a large number of IGCAR employees includingtrainees from IGCAR Training School & BHAVINI.

Dr. K.K. Satpathy Head, E&ISS welcomed the gathering and emphasized the need for promotion ofFire Safety culture in IGCAR. Shri. S.K. Saxena, Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Kalpakkam gave a briefintroduction about the Fire Safety Week. An inspiring technical talk on Fire Safety was delivered byShri. V. Krishnakmurthy, Gen. Mgr. (Retd.), Safety, Environmental & Regulatory Affairs, InternationalFlavour & Fragrance of India Ltd., USA, CA&ME.

As part of this celebration various competitions like Slogan, Essay, Poster, Quiz & Self Content BreathingApparatus (SCBA) demonstration were conducted among employees of IGCAR. Twenty seven prizes wereawarded to various winners.

Shri. P. Swaminathan, Director, EIG distributed prizes and in his brief remark emphasized the need forfire safety at work place.

The following won the First Prizes in various categories.1. Slogan Competition – Mr. B. Velayudham,ITG (Tamil), Mrs. Santhi Parathasarathy, RSD (English). 2. Essay Competition – Mr. K. Kalyanakumar, ROMG(Tamil), Mr. D. Ravindran, QAD (English), Mr. Umashankar, QAD (Hindi). 3. Poster Competition –Mr. D. Ganesan, ITG. 4. Quiz Competition – Mr. P.K. Chourasia & Mr. Rajesh Saxena, IDEAS. 5. SCBACompetition for DAE Fire Service Personnel – Mr. E. Sankar & Mr. A.G. Abdul Rasheed.

(Reported by K.K Satpathy, E&ISS, Sadety Group)


IGCNEWSLETTER

Dr P.R.Vasudeva Rao, Chairman, Editorial Committee Members: Dr.G.Amarendra, Shri M.Ganapathy, Dr.K.V.G.Kutty, Dr.Mary Mohankumar, Shri G.Padma Kumar, Shri Shekar Kumar,Shri M.Somasekharan, Shri R.Srinivasan, Shri R.V. Subba Rao, Shri K.V.Suresh Kumar. Published by Scientific Information Resources Division, IGCAR, Kalpakkam - 603 102

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Recent Advances in Information Science & Technology (READIT-2007)July 12-13, 2007

MAdras Library Association – Kalpakkam Chapteris planning to conduct a two day NationalConference on REcent Advances in InformationScience & Technology” (READIT-2007) duringJuly 12-13 2007. MALA-KC and ScientificInformation Resource Division (SIRD), IGCARhave been conducting a series of conferenceson “Recent Advances in Information Science &Technology” from 1995. The proposedconference will have invited talks by experts inthe field and contributed paper presentationsfrom Researchers. A pre-conference tutorialon “Web Tools and IT Enabled Services” is alsobeing arranged for the benefit of InformationProfessionals on July 11 2007.

Call for Papers

The conference will consist of invited talks andcontributed papers. Contributed papers, onany of the following theme sub-topics arewelcome.

Theme:

Information to Knowledge: Technology andProfessionals

Forthcoming/Symposium Conferences

Sub-topicsLibrary as Knowledge CentersDigital Infrastructure and Technology IntegrationDocument Management and Resource GenerationDigital Preservation IssuesInformation SecurityKnowledge Environment and ProfessionalsKnowledge – A Commodity

Important Dates

Pre-registration : May 23, 2007(with abstract)Intimation of acceptance : May 30, 2007Receipt of completed papers : June 22, 2007Last date for registration : June 29, 2007

Address for Correspondence:Shri M. SomasekharanConvener, READIT-2007Head, Scientific Information Resource Division (SIRD)IGCAR - Kalpakkam - 603 102Phone 044 27480281; Fax 044 274 80096e-mail: [email protected]://www.malakc.org

Dr. Anish Kumar, Metallurgy & Materials Group haswon the INSA Young Scientist Award for the year2007

Mr. Chittaranjan Das, Metallurgy & Materials Grouphas been selected for the ASM young metallurgistaward, Chennai Chapter

Dr. Vidhya Sundararajan, Strategic & HumanResources Planning Section has received the TamilNadu Young Women Scientist Award for the year2006

AWARDS AND HONOURS

from the director’s desk · he constituted a project ... reprocessing development laboratory...

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