Preliminary analysis of FCM fuel thermal-mechanical performance under normal and transient conditions

Conference · Fri Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2016

OSTI ID:22765231

Li, Wenjie; Tang, Changbing ^[1]; Liu, Zhenhai; Li, Wei; Chen, Ping ^[2]

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1. Science and Technology on Reactor System Design Technology Laboratory, Nuclear Power Institute of China, Chengdu, 610213 (China)
2. Design Sub-institute, Nuclear Power Institute of China, Chengdu, 610213 (China)

Fully ceramic microencapsulated (FCM) fuel is a candidate fuel form to replace commercial UO{sub 2} fuel rod in LWR to enhance fuel reliability under accident conditions. The FCM pellet consists of TRISO particles embedded inside the dense SiC matrix. This fuel design is more complex than conventional LWR fuel, which needs new fuel performance models or analysis tools to assist fuel design and concept evaluation. In this paper an attempt was made to develop a finite element method to analyze FCM fuel pellet thermal-mechanical performance. Three idealized cases of normal operation, power ramp, and LOCA were analyzed. The results showed that the temperature distribution and stress distribution of FCM pellet exhibited a strong non-uniformity. The irradiation strain and creep of buffer layer and PyC (pyrolytic carbon) layers had a strong effect on the mechanical performance of FCM pellet. The hoop stresses of SiC layers and SiC matrix increased significantly during the LOCA and varied with radial positions. (authors)

• Research Organization: American Nuclear Society - ANS, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
• OSTI ID: 22765231
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
42 ENGINEERING
BUFFERS
CERAMICS
CREEP
FINITE ELEMENT METHOD
FUEL PELLETS
FUEL RODS
IRRADIATION
LAYERS
LOSS OF COOLANT
NUCLEAR FUELS
PERFORMANCE
PYROLYTIC CARBON
RELIABILITY
SILICON CARBIDES
STEADY-STATE CONDITIONS
STRAINS
STRESSES
TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION
URANIUM DIOXIDE
WATER COOLED REACTORS