Modeling the Pore Formation Mechanism in UMo/AL Dispersion Fuel
In UMo/Al dispersion fuel meat, pores formed in the ILs or at IL-Al interfaces tend to increase in size with irradiation, potentially limiting performance of this fuel. There has been no universally accepted mechanism for the formation and growth of this type of pore. However, there is a consensus that the stress state determined by meat swelling and fission- induced creep is one of the determinants, and fission gas availability at the pore site is another. Five dispersion RERTR miniplates that have well defined irradiation conditions and PIE data were selected for examination. Meat swelling and pore volume were measured in each plate. ABAQUS finite element analysis (FEA) package was utilized to obtain the time-dependent evolution of mechanical states in the plates while matching the measured meat swelling and creep. Interpretation of these results give insights on how to model a failure function – a predictor for large pore formation – using variables such as meat swelling, interaction layer growth, stress, and creep. This model can be used for optimizing fuel design parameters to reach the desired goal: meeting high power and performance reactor demand.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) - Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation - Office of Material Management and Minimization (M3)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-06CH11357
- OSTI ID:
- 1352093
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 2016 European Research Reactor Conference, 03/13/16 - 03/17/16, Berlin, DE
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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