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Title: Enhancements to BISON U-Zr Metallic Fuel X447 Example Problem

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1329651· OSTI ID:1329651
 [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

As development of a metallic fuel modeling capability in BISON has progressed, the need for an example problem used as a comparison basis was observed. Collaborative work between researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) then proceeded to determine a viable rod to use as the basis and create a BISON input deck utilizing as many metallic fuel models as feasible. The basis chosen was what would be considered a generic rod from subassembly X447, an assembly irradiated in EBR-II towards the end of its operating life, heavily based on reported data for fuel pin DP11. Thus, the approach was adopted to use flow characteristics from subassembly X447 as a basis for the convective heat transfer solution, power history and axial power profiles that are representative of rod DP11 from subassembly X447. The rod simulated is a U-10Zr wt% (U-22.5Zr at%) composition. A 2D-RZ mesh would be used to capture axial thermal hydraulic effects, axial swelling and stress-strain calculations over the full length of the rod. After initial work was invested, a refinement of the various models and input parameters was conducted to ensure consistency between operator-declared conditions, model input requirements and those represented in the example problem. This report serves as a synopsis of the enhancements and refinements to the example problem conducted throughout the 2016 fiscal year.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
DOE Contract Number:
AC52-06NA25396
OSTI ID:
1329651
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-16-27552; TRN: US1700395
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English