Simulation of a TRISO MiniFuel irradiation experiment with data-informed uncertainty quantification

Gorton, Jacob P.; Gallagher, Ryan C.; Wallen, Zane G.; Le Coq, Annabelle G.; Helmreich, Grant W.; Petrie, Christian M.; Linton, Kory D.; Latta, Ryan; Gerczak, Tyler J.

doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2023.112177

Simulation of a TRISO MiniFuel irradiation experiment with data-informed uncertainty quantification

Journal Article · Tue Jan 24 00:00:00 EST 2023 · Nuclear Engineering and Design

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2023.112177· OSTI ID:1923167

^[1]; ^[2]; ^[1]; Le Coq, Annabelle G. ^[1]; ^[1]; ^[1]; Linton, Kory D. ^[1]; ^[3]; ^[1]

Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Kairos Power, LLC, Alameda, CA (United States)
Kairos Power, LLC, Alameda, CA (United States)

An irradiation experiment using tristructural isotropic (TRISO) fuel particles and the miniature fuel (MiniFuel) irradiation vehicle was performed in Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) to support development of the Kairos Power fluoride salt–cooled, high-temperature reactor (KP-FHR). Here, this paper describes modeling predictions of temperatures and fuel burnup for the as-built experiment. An uncertainty quantification (UQ) analysis was performed to determine the effect of TRISO particle volume and position on the temperature predictions at various fuel heat generation rates (HGRs). This UQ study utilized fuel kernel position and volume measurements previously collected using X-ray computed tomography (XCT) techniques and Monte Carlo sampling methods to generate fuel compact cases that were then analyzed using a finite element thermal model. The UQ analysis indicated that uncertainty in calculated temperatures caused by varying TRISO particle arrangement is relatively small, even at high fuel HGR. Final predictions of particle temperatures throughout the irradiation are shown to be relevant to KP-FHR normal and off-normal operating conditions and to previous TRISO irradiation experiments. The combination of XCT with UQ analyses will inform post-irradiation examination (PIE) of the irradiated fuel compacts, and these analyses can be used to develop fuel performance models for coated particle fuel forms. Both PIE of separate-effects irradiation data and enhanced fuel performance modeling support accelerated qualification of TRISO fuels for a broad range of advanced reactor applications. The novel approach demonstrated here of measuring TRISO particle configurations with XCT methods and generating representative fuel compacts for finite element modeling and UQ analysis could be leveraged by the broader particle fuel community in the development of other TRISO fuel experiments in which these variables may have a significant impact on key outcomes.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

OSTI ID:: 1923167

Journal Information:: Nuclear Engineering and Design, Journal Name: Nuclear Engineering and Design Vol. 404; ISSN 0029-5493

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (25)

The DOE advanced gas reactor fuel development and qualification program Petti, David; Maki, John; Hunn, John JOM, Vol. 62, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-010-0140-5	journal	September 2010
Preconceptual design of a fluoride high temperature salt-cooled engineering demonstration reactor: Core design and safety analysis Brown, Nicholas R.; Betzler, Benjamin R.; Carbajo, Juan J. Annals of Nuclear Energy, Vol. 103 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2017.01.003	journal	May 2017
Assessment of SCALE and MELCOR for a generic pebble bed fluoride high-temperature reactor Kile, Robert F.; Bostelmann, Friederike; Skutnik, Steven E. Annals of Nuclear Energy, Vol. 173 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2022.109107	journal	August 2022
Proof of concept for hyper-fidelity depletion of full-scale pebble bed reactors Robert, Yves; Siaraferas, Tatiana; Fratoni, Massimiliano Annals of Nuclear Energy, Vol. 183 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2022.109648	journal	April 2023
The challenges associated with high burnup, high temperature and accelerated irradiation for TRISO-coated particle fuel Maki, John T.; Petti, David A.; Knudson, Darrell L. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 371, Issue 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2007.05.019	journal	September 2007
Microencapsulated fuel technology for commercial light water and advanced reactor application Terrani, Kurt A.; Snead, Lance L.; Gehin, Jess C. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 427, Issue 1-3, p. 209-224 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2012.05.021	journal	August 2012
Stability of SiC-matrix microencapsulated fuel constituents at relevant LWR conditions Snead, L. L.; Terrani, K. A.; Katoh, Y. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 448, Issue 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2013.09.056	journal	May 2014
Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of fission gas behavior in engineering-scale fuel modeling Pastore, Giovanni; Swiler, L. P.; Hales, J. D. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 456 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2014.09.077	journal	January 2015
Experimental measurement and numerical modeling of the effective thermal conductivity of TRISO fuel compacts Folsom, Charles; Xing, Changhu; Jensen, Colby Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 458 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2014.12.042	journal	March 2015
Development of a two-regime heat conduction model for TRISO-based nuclear fuels Liu, Maolong; Thurgood, Jared; Lee, Youho Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 519 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.04.004	journal	June 2019
Separate effects irradiation testing of miniature fuel specimens Petrie, Christian M.; Burns, Joseph R.; Raftery, Alicia M. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 526 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.151783	journal	December 2019
A review of in-pile fuel safety tests of TRISO fuel forms and future testing opportunities in non-HTGR applications Brown, Nicholas R. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 534 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152139	journal	June 2020
Modeling fission product diffusion in TRISO fuel particles with BISON Hales, Jason D.; Jiang, Wen; Toptan, Aysenur Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 548 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2021.152840	journal	May 2021
Method for analyzing passive silicon carbide thermometry with a continuous dilatometer to determine irradiation temperature Campbell, Anne A.; Porter, Wallace D.; Katoh, Yutai Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, Vol. 370 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2016.01.005	journal	March 2016
Evaluation of the continuous dilatometer method of silicon carbide thermometry for passive irradiation temperature determination Field, Kevin G.; McDuffee, Joel L.; Geringer, Josina W. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, Vol. 445 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2019.02.022	journal	April 2019
Fabrication of uranium oxycarbide kernels and compacts for HTR fuel Phillips, Jeffrey A.; Nagley, Scott G.; Shaber, Eric L. Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 251 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2011.10.033	journal	October 2012
New method for analysis of X-ray computed tomography scans of TRISO fuel forms Helmreich, Grant W.; Hunn, John D.; Brown, Daniel R. Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 357 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2019.110418	journal	February 2020
Kairos power thermal hydraulics research and development Blandford, Edward; Brumback, Kyle; Fick, Lambert Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 364 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2020.110636	journal	August 2020
Modeling and simulation of a High Flux Isotope Reactor representative core model for updated performance and safety basis assessments Chandler, David; Betzler, Benjamin R.; Davidson, Eva E. Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 366 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2020.110752	journal	September 2020
Neutronics, thermal-hydraulics, and multi-physics benchmark models for a generic pebble-bed fluoride-salt-cooled high temperature reactor (FHR) Satvat, Nader; Sarikurt, Fatih; Johnson, Kevin Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 384 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2021.111461	journal	December 2021
Demonstration of a random sampling approach to uncertainty propagation for generic pebble-bed fluoride-salt-cooled high temperature reactor (gFHR) Walton, Noah A. W.; Crowder, Robert; Satvat, Nader Nuclear Engineering and Design, Vol. 395 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2022.111843	journal	August 2022
Sensitivity Analysis for Chemical Models Saltelli, Andrea; Ratto, Marco; Tarantola, Stefano Chemical Reviews, Vol. 105, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1021/cr040659d	journal	July 2005
Modeling Tritium Retention in Graphite for Fluoride-Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactors Dolan, Kieran; Huang, Steven; Hackett, Micah Nuclear Technology, Vol. 207, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2020.1829428	journal	January 2021
Heat Transfer Through Small Moveable Gas Gaps in a Multi-Body System Using the ANSYS Finite Element Software McDuffee, Joel L. ASME 2013 Heat Transfer Summer Conference collocated with the ASME 2013 7th International Conference on Energy Sustainability and the ASME 2013 11th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology, Volume 1: Heat Transfer in Energy Systems; Thermophysical Properties; Theory and Fundamental Research in Heat Transfer https://doi.org/10.1115/HT2013-17783	conference	December 2013
SCALE Code System Wieselquist, William A.; Lefebvre, Robert Alexander; Jessee, Matthew A. https://doi.org/10.2172/1616812	report	April 2020

Similar Records

Irradiation of MiniFuel Targets Bearing TRISO Fuel Compacts (Status Report)

Technical Report · Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · OSTI ID:1874642

Analysis and Design for Irradiation of High Power TRISO Fuel Compact Specimens in HFIR

Technical Report · Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · OSTI ID:1811406

UCO TRISO Minifuel FY23 NSUF-Kairos Power Post-Irradiation Examination Status Report

Technical Report · Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · OSTI ID:1995670

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
FHRXCT
fuel qualification
sensitivity analysis
separate effects

Simulation of a TRISO MiniFuel irradiation experiment with data-informed uncertainty quantification

Citation Formats

References (25)

Similar Records

Related Subjects