Journal
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
Volume 544, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152657
Keywords
Uranium-plutonium-zirconium; Metallic fuel; Constituent redistribution; CALPHAD; BISON
Funding
- US Department of Energy Fuel Cycle Technologies program from Idaho National Laboratory
- US Department of Energy [DE-AC07-05ID14517]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
A CALPHAD-informed constituent redistribution model was developed and incorporated into the BISON fuel performance code, calibrated with three uncertain model parameters to accurately predict the behavior of U-Zr fuels. Model predictions for U-Pu-Zr fuels were less accurate, with potential improvement by reducing uncertainties in ternary phase transition temperatures and collecting more kinetic data. The new model was successfully coupled with existing thermomechanics models to accurately simulate irradiation of U-Zr fuels at the engineering scale.
A CALPHAD-informed (Computer Coupling of Phase Diagrams and Thermochemistry) constituent redistribution model was developed for Zr-based metallic fuels and incorporated into the BISON fuel performance code. Three uncertain model parameters associated with beta and gamma phase kinetics were calibrated using integral test data from U-Zr fuel elements irradiated in Experimental Breeder Reactor II. The calibrated constituent redistribution model was shown to predict the behavior of U-Zr fuels with excellent accuracy. Model predictions for U-Pu-Zr fuels were physically reasonable but less accurate. Reduction of uncertainties in the ternary phase transition temperatures and collection of kinetic data for the zeta phase are expected to improve the model's ternary predictions. Finally, the new model was coupled to existing thermomechanics models in BISON to simulate irradiation of an entire U-Zr fuel element, demonstrating its ability to accurately predict the behavior of U-Zr fuels with realistic geometries and mesh resolutions at the engineering scale. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available