核燃料循环设施锆屑火灾研究

锆是核燃料元件包壳的制造材料,核燃料循环设施涉及锆包壳磨削、剪切等工序,机械加工产生的锆屑极易燃烧。国内外核燃料循环设施中,锆屑着火事件时有发生,对设施造成严重危害。核燃料循环设施的消防安全是整个核安全体系中至关重要的组成部分,不仅包含常规消防相关内容,还涉及核安全。本文描述锆的燃烧特性,分析了典型案例,研究了国外相关安全准则,提出科学预防与合理设置灭火设施的建议,为降低核燃料循环设施锆屑火灾危害打下了基础。

AP1000燃料组件锆屑产生原因及处理措施探讨

根据AP1000燃料组件结构特点,分析认为燃料组件中锆屑(锆细丝及锆屑积瘤)产生的原因是燃料棒在拉棒过程中,燃料棒与格架中的格架弹簧、刚凸相互挤压刮擦燃料棒产生的。锆细丝或锆屑积瘤如果在燃料组件入堆前无法清除干净,这些锆细丝或锆屑积瘤存留在燃料组件上,燃料组件在堆内运行过程中,由于冷却剂的高速横流使燃料棒过分振动可能造成锆屑磨蚀燃料棒,导致燃料棒破损。针对燃料棒拉棒产生的锆屑,调研了国内外减少拉棒过程中锆屑的产生和处理措施,提出了解决方案建议。

Constraints on sedimentary ages of the Chuanlinggou Formation in the Ming Tombs, Beijing, North China Craton: LA-ICP-MS and SHRIMP U–Pb dating of detrital zircons

Detrital zircons in five sedimentary samples, MC1 to MC5, from the bottom of the Chuanlinggou Formation in the Ming Tombs District, Beijing, were dated with the LA-ICP-MS and SHRIMP U-Pb methods. Age spectra of the five samples show a major peak at 2500 Ma and a secondary peak at 2000 Ma, suggesting their provenances were mainly from the crystalline basement of the North China Craton and the Trans-North China Orogen. The youngest zircon has an age of 1673 d： 44 Ma, indicating that the Chuanlinggou Formation was deposited after this age. From sample MC4 to MC5, lithology changed from a clastic rock （fine-grained sandstone） to a carbonate rock （fine-grained dolomite）, suggesting that the depositional basin became progressively deeper. The age spectrum of sample MC5 shows a major peak at 2500 Ma and a secondary peak at 2000 Ma. Sample MC4, which is stratigraphically lower than sample MC5, only had one peak at 2500 Ma. We conclude that there was a transgressive event when sediments represented by MC5 was deposited, and seawater carried ca. 2000 Ma clastic materials to the basin where the Chuanlinggou Formation was deposited, leading to the addition of ca. 2000 Ma detritus. Our research indicates that the source area for the sediments became more extensive with time. We conclude that the Chuanlinggou Formation in the Ming Tombs District was deposited in a low-energy mud fiat sedimentary environment in the inter-supra tidal zone because it is mainly composed of silty mudstone and fine-grained sandstone with relatively simple sedimentary structures.

Detrital zircon age model of Ordovician Wenquan quartzite south of Lungmuco-Shuanghu Suture in the Qiangtang area, Tibet: Constraint on tectonic affinity and source regions

Early to Middle Ordovician strata, including Wenquan quartzite, occur widely in the Himalaya, Lhasa, and south Qiangtang blocks. The Wenquan quartzite occurs on the south side of the Lungmuco-Shuanghu Suture in the Qiangtang area, Tibet. A total of 145 analyses on detrital zircons from the quartzite show five age ranges of 520-700, ca. 800, 900-1100, 1800-1900, and 2400-2500 Ma, with particularly distinct age peaks of 625 and 950 Ma. The reliable youngest detrital zircon age is 525 Ma, and the oldest, 3180 Ma. Detrital zircons show large variations in Hf isotope composition, with depleted mantle model ages t DM (Hf) ranging from 750 to 3786 Ma. Based on data obtained in this study and by others, the main conclusions are as follows: 1) Low-grade metamorphic sedimentary rocks are distributed extensively in the south of the Lungmuco-Shuanghu Suture and are Phanerozoic in age; 2) Pan-African and Grenville-Jinning tectono-thermal events were well developed in the source region of the Wenquan quartzite; 3) the source region shows crustal addition and recycling of different periods; 4) Wenquan quartzite was derived from the Gondwana metamorphic basement, suggesting that the Qiangtang block is a Gondwanan fragment.

Provenance of Central Canyon in Qiongdongnan Basin as evidenced by detrital zircon U-Pb study of Upper Miocene sandstones

Deep-water canyon systems can provide important sandstone reservoirs for deep-water oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea;however,the sedimentary provenance of the Central Canyon in the Qiongdongnan Basin remains controversial.In this work,detrital zircon grains from three drilling sandstones in the Upper Miocene Huangliu Formation in the western part of the Central Canyon were analysed by LA-ICP-MS for U-Pb ages,in order to constrain their provenance.One hundred and ninety-one zircon grains yield concordant U-Pb ages ranging from 28.6 to 3285 Ma.Most of them show oscillatory or linear zoning in CL-images and high Th/U ratios(>0.1),suggesting that they are magmatic zircons.Three major age clusters at about30 Ma(N=6),220–270 Ma(N=29),and 420–440 Ma(N=13),and five minor age clusters at 70–110 Ma(N=7),150–170 Ma(N=4),800–850 Ma(N=11),1800–2000 Ma(N=16),and 2400–2600 Ma(N=7),can be identified in the age spectrum,which are very similar to those of the Upper Miocene sandstones and modern river sands in the Red River area,but different from those of other nearby regions(e.g.,Hainan Island,the Pearl River area,and the Mekong River area)in Southeast Asia.The major age peak at about 30 Ma in our samples is consistent with the timing of tectonothermal events in the Red River Fault Zone.Therefore,we suggest that the provenance of the western part of the Central Canyon,in the Qiongdongnan Basin,was fed dominantly by the Paleo-Red River system during the Late Miocene.

Methods and application of using detrital zircons to trace the provenance of loess

The composition of single-grain detrital zircons is an effective provenance indicator of loess,and sheds new light on dust formation and transportation.Here we review the features of detrital zircons and their use as a provenance indicator,including internal structure,trace element,U-Pb age spectrum and Hf isotopic compositions,and present a case study from the Horqin sandy land and its surrounding loess.The loess samples have detrital zircon age peaks in range of 2600-2300,2100-1600,and 600-100 Ma,of which the 2600-2300 Ma zircon grains mainly have positive Hf(t) values(3.4-8.7),the 2100-1600 Ma zircon grains mainly have negative Hf(t) values(10.1-6.8),and the 600-100 Ma zircon grains have a variable Hf(t) values ranging from 21 to 15.9.The detrital zircon signatures of the loess are similar to the Horqin sandy land,but clearly different from the Chinese Loess Plateau and central-western deserts,implying that the loess is transported mainly from the Horqin sandy land in the Last Glacial period.Comparing these with neighboring tectonic units,we found that zircon populations at 2600-2300,2100-1600,and 600-100 Ma with negative Hf(t) values may come from the northeast North China Craton(NCC),and those at 600-100 Ma with positive Hf(t) values may come from the east Central Asian Orogenic Belt(CAOB).It is estimated that the two sources contribute equally to the Horqin sandy land and the surrounding loess.

Cenozoic tectonic and geomorphic evolution of the Longxi region in northeastern Tibetan Plateau interpreted from detrital zircon

The Longxi region contains different kinds of Cenozoic sediments, including eolian deposits, reworked loess, fluvial and lacustrine deposits. The provenance evolution of these sediments is of great significance in exploring the uplift, tectonic deformation and associated with geomorphic evolution of the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau. In this paper, we used the single-grain zircon provenance analysis to constrain the provenances for the Paleogene alluvial conglomerates and for the Neogene fluvial-lacustrine sediments, and compared them with results from the loess deposits since the Miocene. The results show that： （1） the Paleogene alluvial conglomerates contain a large number of detrital zircons ranging from 560 to 1100 Ma that were derived from the Yangzi Block. However, the sediments of early Miocene have much fewer zircons of this age span, which are characterized by an abundance of zircon ages in the ranges of 200 360 Ma. This indicates that the Paleogcne alluvial conglomerates mainly come from the middle and/or southern West Qinling, and the early Miocene sediments are primarily from the northern West Qinling; （2） Late Neogene fluvial sediments （11.5 Ma onward） in Tianshui-Qinan region are dominated by zircon ages of 380-450 Ma. This zircon population is similar to that of the exposed intrusive rocks of southern part of the Liupan Mountains, implying that the southern part of Liupan Mountains probably had already uplifted by 11.5 Ma; （3） Late Miocene lacustrine sediments in Tianshui region have a zircon age spectra that is remarkably different from coeval fluvial deposits, but is similar to the zircon age distributions of the Miocene loess in Qinan region, late Miocene-Pliocene Hipparion red clay and Quaternary loess. This indicates that fine particles within these Miocene lacustrine sediments in Tianshui region may be dominated by aeolian materials. This study reveals that provenance changes of Cenozoic sediments in Tianshui-Qinan region and its geomorphic evolution are closely related to the multi-stage uplift of the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau. In particular, the major uplift of the Northem Tibetan Plateau during late Oligocene-early Miocene may have not only provided the source areas and wind dynamic conditions for the deposits of the Miocene loess, but also provided the geomorphic conditions for its accumulation.

U-Pb geochronology of hydrothermal zircon from the Mesoproterozoic Gaoyuzhuang Formation on the northern margin of the North China Block and its geological implications

This paper reports LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb ages and REE compositions on detrital zircons （Type 1） and hydrothermal zircons （Type 2） from low-metasedimentary rocks in the Mesoproterozoic Gaoyuzhuang Formation, Pingquan area, Hebei Province that provide important constraints on the tectonic evolution along the northern margin of the North China Block. The detrital zircons are characterized by an oscillatory magmatic core, surrounded by a narrow structureless rim in CL images. They yield 2~7pb/2~tpb ages ranging from 1703 to 2543 Ma with two age peaks at 2473 and 1794 Ma, which is consistent with the Neoarchean and Paleoproterozoic tectono-thermal events recorded in the NCB basement, indicating that the source of the detritus was locally derived. By contrast, the hydrothermal ones are euhedral, sector zoning or internally structureless. They have relatively higher U and Th contents and Th/U ratios （U=139-2918 ppm, Th=35-1327 ppm, Th/U （average） =0.78 vs. U=15-1044 ppm, Th=8-341 ppm, Th/U （average） =0.57 for detrital zircons）. Moreover, they are also enriched in REEs relative to detrital zircons and show a lower positive Ce anomaly （ZREE = 659-2418 ppm vs. 231-611 ppm for detrital zircon; Ce/Ce＊=2-13 vs. 33-174 for detrital zircons）, similar to known hydrothermal zircons derived from many locations. These characteristics, combined with our field petrographic observations, indicate that the hydrothermal zircons possibly formed from a low temperature aqueous fluid. Twelve concordant or near-concordant analyses on hydrothermal zircons yield weighted mean 206pb/238U ages of 325-327 Ma, which provide unambiguous evidence that the northern NCB underwent late Paleozoic low temperature hydrothermal modification. This timing of this hydrothermal event is compatible with that of the late Paleozoic magmatic and metamorphic-deformational events occurred on the northern margin of the NCB, it appears likely that the hydrothermal activity resulted from southward subduction of the Paleo-Asian Oceanic plate underneath the NCB during late Paleozoic.

Detrital zircon U-Pb-He double dating: A method of quantifying long- and short-term exhumation rates in collisional orogens

A U-Pb-He double-dating method is applied to detrital zircons with core-rim structure from the Ganges River in order to de- termine average short and long-term exhumation rates for the Himalayas. Long-term rates are calculated from the U/Pb ages of metamorphic rims of the grains that formed during the Himalayan orogeny and their crystallization temperatures, which are calculated from the Ti-in-zircon thermometer. Short-term rates are calculated from （U-Th）/He ages of the grains with appro- priate closure temperatures. The results show that short-term rates for the Himalayas, which range from 0.70 ± 0.09 to 2.67 ± 0.40 km/Myr and average 1.75 ± 0.59 （1δ） km/Myr, are higher and more varied than the long-term rates, which range from 0.84 ±0.16 to 1.85 ± 0.35 km/Myr and average 1.26 ±0.25 （let） km/Myr. The differences between the long-term and short-term rates can be attributed to continuous exhumation of the host rocks in different mechanisms in continental collision orogen. The U/Pb ages of 44.0 ± 3.7 to 18.3 ±0.5 Ma for the zircon rims indicate a protracted episode of -：25 Myr for regional metamorphism of the host rocks at deeper crust, whereas the （U-Th）/He ages of 42.2 ± 1.8 to 1.3 ± 0.2 Ma for the zircon grains represent a protracted period of -40 Myr for exposure of the host rocks to shallower crustal level. In particular, the oldest （U-Th）/He ages of the zircon grains are close to the oldest U/Pb ages for the rims, indicating that some parcels of the rocks that contain zircons were rapidly exhumed from deep to shallow levels in the stage of collisional orogeny. On the other hand, some parcels of the rocks may have been carried upwards by thrust faults in the post-collisional stage. The parcels could be carried upwards by the thrust faults that steepen as they near the surface, or by transient movement faults so that areas of rapid exhu- mation became areas of slow exhumation and visa versa on a time scale of a few Myr in order to maintain the continuous ex- humation. In this regard, the Ganges River must be preferentially sampling areas that are currently undergoing above average rates of uplift.