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Title: Experiment data report for Multirod Burst Test (MRBT) Bundle B-5. [PWR]

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6517908· OSTI ID:6517908

A reference source of MRBT bundle B-5 test data is presented with interpretation limited to that necessary to understand pertinent features of the test. Primary objectives of this 8 x 8 multirod burst test were to investigate the effects of array size and rod-to-rod interactions on cladding deformation in the high-alpha-Zircaloy temperature range under simulated light-water reactor loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) conditions. B-5 test conditions, nominally the same as used in an earlier 4 x 4 (B-3) test, simulated the adiabatic heatup (reheat) phase of an LOCA and were conducive to large deformation. The fuel pin simulators were electrically heated (average linear power generation of 3.0 kW/m) and were slightly cooled with a very low flow (Re approx. 140) of low-pressure superheated steam. The cladding temperature increased from the initial temperature (335/sup 0/C) to the burst temperature at a rate of 9.8/sup 0/C/s. The simulators burst in a very narrow temperature range, with an average of 768/sup 0/C. Cladding burst strain ranged from 32% to 95%, with an average of 61%. Volumetric expansion over the heated length of the cladding ranged from 35% to 79%, with an average of 52%. The results clearly show deformation was greater in the bundle interior and suggest rod-to-rod mechanical interactions caused axial propagation of the deformation.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-84OR21400
OSTI ID:
6517908
Report Number(s):
NUREG/CR-3459; ORNL/TM-8889; ON: TI84015735
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Includes 6 sheets of 48x reduction microfiche
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English