Unraveling the Mechanics: Computational Modeling of Residual Stresses in U10Mo Fuel with Aluminum Cladding

Conference · Thu Aug 03 04:00:00 EDT 2023

OSTI ID:1995772

Mattey, Revanth ^[1]; Ozaltun, Hakan ^[1]

---

1. Idaho National Laboratory

LEU (Low Enriched Uranium) plate-type fuel elements consist of a high-density, low-enrichment U–Mo alloy-based fuel foil encapsulated in an aluminum cladding and is fabricated through the Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) technique. Understanding the mechanism of possible failure modes of nuclear fuel is critical to mitigate potential consequences. One of the major contributing factors in various failure modes is stress and it greatly affects the integrity under temperature, pressure, and irradiation. These stresses could originate from various sources, including manufacturing, and operation, and can lead to deformation, cracking, or even complete failure of fuel elements. This study focuses on the development of a computational model that accurately predicts the residual stresses generated in the U10Mo fuel during fabrication. It has been observed that cladding creep has a substantial impact on the residual stresses in the U10Mo fuel post the HIP fabrication process. Furthermore, during the HIP bonding process the fuel plate system is heated to a temperature of 560 oC and as a result, the aluminum cladding transitions from (Al 6061-T6 to -O). This presents a challenge in capturing the change in material properties accurately. Therefore, a temperature dependent creep model such as hyperbolic sine creep model is considered to estimate the creep properties of the Aluminum cladding. The proposed calibrated creep model accurately predicts the residual stresses in the U10Mo fuel foil and agrees well with the experiments.

• Research Organization: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: 51
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-05ID14517
• OSTI ID: 1995772
• Report Number(s): INL/CON-23-73730-Rev000
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
Cladding
Hyperbolic Creep
Residual stress
U10Mo Fuel