TY - JOUR
T1 - Parametric Evaluation of SiC/SiC Composite Cladding with UO2 Fuel for LWR Applications
T2 - Fuel Rod Interactions and Impact of Nonuniform Power Profile in Fuel Rod
AU - Singh, G.
AU - Sweet, R.
AU - Brown, N. R.
AU - Wirth, B. D.
AU - Katoh, Y.
AU - Terrani, K.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the BISON and MOOSE code developers for their technical support for this work. The high-performance computing facilities made available by Idaho National Laboratory are gratefully acknowledged. This research is sponsored by the Advanced Fuels Campaign of the Nuclear Technology R&D program, Office of Nuclear Energy, U.S. Department of Energy , under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with UT-Battelle, LLC .
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2018/2
Y1 - 2018/2
N2 - SiC/SiC composites are candidates for accident tolerant fuel cladding in light water reactors. In the extreme nuclear reactor environment, SiC-based fuel cladding will be exposed to neutron damage, significant heat flux, and a corrosive environment. To ensure reliable and safe operation of accident tolerant fuel cladding concepts such as SiC-based materials, it is important to assess thermo-mechanical performance under in-reactor conditions including irradiation and realistic temperature distributions. The effect of non-uniform dimensional changes caused by neutron irradiation with spatially varying temperatures, along with the closing of the fuel–cladding gap, on the stress development in the cladding over the course of irradiation were evaluated. The effect of non-uniform circumferential power profile in the fuel rod on the mechanical performance of the cladding is also evaluated. These analyses have been performed using the BISON fuel performance modeling code and the commercial finite element analysis code Abaqus. A constitutive model is constructed and solved numerically to predict the stress distribution in the cladding under normal operating conditions. The dependence of dimensions and thermophysical properties on irradiation dose and temperature has been incorporated into the models. Initial scoping results from parametric analyses provide time varying stress distributions in the cladding as well as the interaction of fuel rod with the cladding under different conditions of initial fuel rod-cladding gap and linear heat rate. It is found that a non-uniform circumferential power profile in the fuel rod may cause significant lateral bowing in the cladding, and motivates further analysis and evaluation.
AB - SiC/SiC composites are candidates for accident tolerant fuel cladding in light water reactors. In the extreme nuclear reactor environment, SiC-based fuel cladding will be exposed to neutron damage, significant heat flux, and a corrosive environment. To ensure reliable and safe operation of accident tolerant fuel cladding concepts such as SiC-based materials, it is important to assess thermo-mechanical performance under in-reactor conditions including irradiation and realistic temperature distributions. The effect of non-uniform dimensional changes caused by neutron irradiation with spatially varying temperatures, along with the closing of the fuel–cladding gap, on the stress development in the cladding over the course of irradiation were evaluated. The effect of non-uniform circumferential power profile in the fuel rod on the mechanical performance of the cladding is also evaluated. These analyses have been performed using the BISON fuel performance modeling code and the commercial finite element analysis code Abaqus. A constitutive model is constructed and solved numerically to predict the stress distribution in the cladding under normal operating conditions. The dependence of dimensions and thermophysical properties on irradiation dose and temperature has been incorporated into the models. Initial scoping results from parametric analyses provide time varying stress distributions in the cladding as well as the interaction of fuel rod with the cladding under different conditions of initial fuel rod-cladding gap and linear heat rate. It is found that a non-uniform circumferential power profile in the fuel rod may cause significant lateral bowing in the cladding, and motivates further analysis and evaluation.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2017.10.059
DO - 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2017.10.059
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85034818547
SN - 0022-3115
VL - 499
SP - 155
EP - 167
JO - Journal of Nuclear Materials
JF - Journal of Nuclear Materials
ER -