Investigating Accident Tolerant Fuel Concepts using the BISON Fuel Performance Code

Journal Article · Wed Jun 15 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society

OSTI ID:22992121

Gamble, Kyle A.; Hales, Jason D. ^[1]

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1. Fuel Modeling and Simulation, Idaho National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID 83415-3840 (United States)

There has been an increased interest in research of accident tolerant fuels (ATF) and claddings for use in commercial reactors ever since the events that occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in 2011. The economic impact of these events on the nuclear energy sector is significant. As a result, the United States Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy accelerated research in nuclear fuel concepts with enhanced accident tolerance as part of its Fuel Cycle Research and Development (FCRD) Advanced Fuels Campaign (AFC). A report produced by the AFC entitled Light Water Reactor Accident Tolerant Fuel Performance Metrics outlines a set of metrics that can be used to guide selection of promising ATF concepts. Moreover, the report specifies that a down-selection is to occur in the 2016-2017 time frame, at which time the program will move from a proof-of-concept to a proof-of-principle stage with continued research and development into a small set of concepts. Given the time necessary for comprehensive irradiation experiments and post-irradiation examination, it is impossible to perform a complete set of experiments for material characterization. Therefore, the AFC is utilizing computational analysis tools in an effort to understand the proposed materials under a variety of normal operating and accident conditions. For some time, the DOE's Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program has been developing computational analysis tools for nuclear fuel simulation. These codes include BISON and Marmot which investigate fuel behavior at the continuum and microstructural scales, respectively. In 2014, NEAMS introduced what it calls High Impact Problems (HIPs) into its program plan. These HIPs are intended to make significant advancements in a particular area of nuclear power research in a short period of time (3 years or less). NEAMS has chosen an ATF project, which emphasizes utilizing BISON and Marmot to model proposed materials, as its first HIP. This summary focuses on the methodology being utilized for investigation of ATF concepts using the BISON fuel performance code. First, we give an overview of the model development for two candidate ATF materials, FeCrAl for cladding and uranium silicide (U{sub 3}Si{sub 2}) for fuel. Then, we present the approach for deciding which simulations are necessary given the importance of such simulations in providing a detailed report into the fuel performance behavior of these materials by the conclusion of the HIP. In absence of experimental data and given the aggressive schedule outlined by the AFC for ATF research and development, computational analysis tools are required. These tools are being used to help guide experiment design and to perform bounding and sensitivity studies to gain valuable information for which experimental data is limited. In support of this effort, models have been incorporated into BISON for simulation of U{sub 3}Si{sub 2} and FeCrAl. Continued material model development and engineering analysis will help address questions related to the performance of these ATF materials under normal operating and accident conditions. (authors)

• OSTI ID: 22992121
• Journal Information: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, Vol. 114, Issue 1; Conference: Annual Meeting of the American Nuclear Society. Embedded topical meeting 'Nuclear fuels and structural material for the next generation nuclear reactors', New Orleans, LA (United States), 12-16 Jun 2016; Other Information: Country of input: France; 11 refs.; Available from American Nuclear Society - ANS, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 United States; ISSN 0003-018X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
97 MATHEMATICAL METHODS AND COMPUTING
ACCIDENT-TOLERANT NUCLEAR FUELS
EXPERIMENT DESIGN
FUEL CYCLE
FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR POWER STATION
IRRADIATION
MICROSTRUCTURE
NUCLEAR ENERGY
NUCLEAR POWER
POST-IRRADIATION EXAMINATION
REACTOR ACCIDENTS
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS
SIMULATION
URANIUM SILICIDES
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS