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Title: Thermo mechanical analysis of fully ceramic microencapsulated fuel during in-pile operation

Abstract

A proposed fuel for improved performance in LWRs (Light Water Reactors) is FCM (fully encapsulated micro-ceramic) fuel concept that involves TRISO (Tri-structural-Isotropic) fuel particles embedded in a NITE (Nano Infiltrated Eutectic) silicon carbide matrix. TRISO fuel particles contain a spherical fuel kernel that will likely range from about 500 to in excess of 800 μm in diameter. The kernel and buffer layer are then typically coated with 3 isotropic layers consisting of a dense inner pyrolytic carbon (IPyC), a silicon carbide (SiC) layer, and an outer layer of dense, pyrolytic carbon (OPyC). These layers are typically around 40 μm thick, but can range from 20 to 60 μm. The TRISO particle packing fraction in the NITE-SiC matrix is expected to be 40-45 vol.%. The release of radioactivity into the coolant is dependent on the integrity of the silicon carbide layer of the TRISO particles and the NITE-SiC matrix. BISON, a code under development by Idaho National Laboratory, has been built on the Multi-physics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE). MOOSE is a massively parallel, finite element computational system that uses a Jacobian-free, Newton-Krylov (JFNK) method to solve coupled systems and non-linear partial differential equations. A single particle comparison to fuel performancemore » codes such as PARFUME was conducted and demonstrated that BISON is able to simulate the required physics. FCM pellets embedded with homogenous particles were simulated. It was found that the interior matrix temperature was predicted to be considerably lower than for an equivalent UO{sub 2} pellet. The swelling dependence on temperature created a compressive region around the perimeter of the pellet. However, at fluences above 6.10{sup 25} neutrons/m{sup 2}, the swelling of the pyrolytic carbon might cause significant tensile stresses and possible cracks near the surface of the pellet. This suggests that the pyrolytic carbon swelling may be an important factor in the lifetime of this fuel type.« less

Authors:
 [1]; ;  [2];  [3];  [1]
  1. Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-2300 (United States)
  2. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
American Nuclear Society - ANS, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
OSTI Identifier:
22765245
Resource Type:
Conference
Resource Relation:
Conference: TOP FUEL 2016: LWR fuels fuels with enhanced safety and performance, Boise, ID (United States), 11-15 Sep 2016; Other Information: Country of input: France; 30 refs.; Related Information: In: TOP FUEL 2016 Proceedings| 1670 p.
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS; 42 ENGINEERING; B CODES; CERAMICS; COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS; FINITE ELEMENT METHOD; FUEL PARTICLES; FUEL PELLETS; LAYERS; MATRICES; NEUTRONS; NONLINEAR PROBLEMS; NUCLEAR FUELS; PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS; PYROLYTIC CARBON; SILICON CARBIDES; SIMULATION; SPHERICAL CONFIGURATION; SWELLING; URANIUM DIOXIDE; WATER COOLED REACTORS; WATER MODERATED REACTORS

Citation Formats

Schappel, D., Terrani, K., Powers, J., Snead, L. L., Wirth, B. D., and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN. Thermo mechanical analysis of fully ceramic microencapsulated fuel during in-pile operation. United States: N. p., 2016. Web.
Schappel, D., Terrani, K., Powers, J., Snead, L. L., Wirth, B. D., & Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN. Thermo mechanical analysis of fully ceramic microencapsulated fuel during in-pile operation. United States.
Schappel, D., Terrani, K., Powers, J., Snead, L. L., Wirth, B. D., and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN. 2016. "Thermo mechanical analysis of fully ceramic microencapsulated fuel during in-pile operation". United States.
@article{osti_22765245,
title = {Thermo mechanical analysis of fully ceramic microencapsulated fuel during in-pile operation},
author = {Schappel, D. and Terrani, K. and Powers, J. and Snead, L. L. and Wirth, B. D. and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN},
abstractNote = {A proposed fuel for improved performance in LWRs (Light Water Reactors) is FCM (fully encapsulated micro-ceramic) fuel concept that involves TRISO (Tri-structural-Isotropic) fuel particles embedded in a NITE (Nano Infiltrated Eutectic) silicon carbide matrix. TRISO fuel particles contain a spherical fuel kernel that will likely range from about 500 to in excess of 800 μm in diameter. The kernel and buffer layer are then typically coated with 3 isotropic layers consisting of a dense inner pyrolytic carbon (IPyC), a silicon carbide (SiC) layer, and an outer layer of dense, pyrolytic carbon (OPyC). These layers are typically around 40 μm thick, but can range from 20 to 60 μm. The TRISO particle packing fraction in the NITE-SiC matrix is expected to be 40-45 vol.%. The release of radioactivity into the coolant is dependent on the integrity of the silicon carbide layer of the TRISO particles and the NITE-SiC matrix. BISON, a code under development by Idaho National Laboratory, has been built on the Multi-physics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE). MOOSE is a massively parallel, finite element computational system that uses a Jacobian-free, Newton-Krylov (JFNK) method to solve coupled systems and non-linear partial differential equations. A single particle comparison to fuel performance codes such as PARFUME was conducted and demonstrated that BISON is able to simulate the required physics. FCM pellets embedded with homogenous particles were simulated. It was found that the interior matrix temperature was predicted to be considerably lower than for an equivalent UO{sub 2} pellet. The swelling dependence on temperature created a compressive region around the perimeter of the pellet. However, at fluences above 6.10{sup 25} neutrons/m{sup 2}, the swelling of the pyrolytic carbon might cause significant tensile stresses and possible cracks near the surface of the pellet. This suggests that the pyrolytic carbon swelling may be an important factor in the lifetime of this fuel type.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22765245}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Fri Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}

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