The Feasibility and the Benefits of the Advanced Nuclear Fuel Pellet Designs with Radially Varying Fuel Zoning and Burnable Poison Concentration (Final Summary Report)
As part of the work supported by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) FY 2021 Voucher, Exelon Generation, now Constellation, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) entered into a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) to evaluate and assess the feasibility and impact of various conceptual advanced nuclear fuel pellet designs (ANFPDs). The objective of this project was to perform modeling and simulation and analyses using the advanced modeling and simulation capabilities of VERA/BISON, developed by DOE, to determine the viability and benefits of numerous advanced nuclear fuel pellet design concepts in terms of fuel cycle costs, operational safety, and margin improvement. Whereas the detailed coupled neutronic and thermal hydraulic analyses performed using VERA provided in-depth knowledge in terms of fuel cycle performance, the detailed VERA results were used in subsequent fuel performance analyses using BISON. These subsequent analyses focused on several key fuel performance criteria, such as peak fuel centerline temperature (FCT), fission gas release (FGR), gap closure, plenum pressure, and cladding hoop stress. These key fuel performance criteria were analyzed for some of the conceptual fuel designs and were compared with the results obtained for UO2 fuel. The results provided detailed information to enable better understanding of the performance of the fuel types analyzed. Understanding the advantage of loading these conceptual fuel designs into the core is important not only to Constellation but also to the entire light-water reactor (LWR) fleet in the United States.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725; AC07-05ID14517
- OSTI ID:
- 1958390
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/TM-2022/2541; TRN: US2313708
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Multiphysics analysis of fuel Fragmentation, Relocation, and dispersal Susceptibility–Part 2: High-Burnup Steady-State operating and fuel performance conditions
Pellet-clad mechanical interaction screening using VERA applied to Watts Bar Unit 1, Cycles 1–3