An experimentally validated mesoscale model for the effective thermal conductivity of U-Zr fuels

Badry, Fergany; Singh, Monika; Ortega, Luis H.; Mcdeavitt, Sean M.; Ahmed, Karim

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2022.154203

An experimentally validated mesoscale model for the effective thermal conductivity of U-Zr fuels

Journal Article · Thu Dec 15 00:00:00 EST 2022 · Journal of Nuclear Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2022.154203· OSTI ID:2418322

^[1]; ^[2]; ^[2]; Mcdeavitt, Sean M. ^[2]; Ahmed, Karim ^[2]

Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States); OSTI
Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)

An experimentally validated mesoscale model was developed to simulate the effective thermal conductivity (ETC) of metallic U and U–Zr nuclear fuels. The effects of microstructure, temperature, composition, and interfacial thermal resistance (ITR) were investigated. Companion experiments were conducted to validate the model. The numerical simulations clearly demonstrate that accounting for the interface (Kapitza) thermal resistance and Zr precipitation is necessary to improve the model predictions. The dependence of the effective Kapitza resistance of depleted-U and U-10Zr on temperature was determined. Finally, for both materials, the largest difference between the model calculations and the experimental data was about 4.5%, which is within the precision of the experimental measurements.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). Texas A & M Engineering Experiment Station; UT-Battelle LLC/ORNL, Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities (SUF)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC07-05ID14517; NE0008764

OSTI ID:: 2418322

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1907022

Journal Information:: Journal of Nuclear Materials, Journal Name: Journal of Nuclear Materials Vol. 574; ISSN 0022-3115

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (41)

Heat capacity of uranium-zirconium systems Fedorov, G. B.; Smirnov, E. A. Soviet Atomic Energy, Vol. 25, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01114245	journal	July 1968
Using Coupled Mesoscale Experiments and Simulations to Investigate High Burn-Up Oxide Fuel Thermal Conductivity Teague, Melissa C.; Fromm, Bradley S.; Tonks, Michael R. JOM, Vol. 66, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-014-1160-3	journal	October 2014
Mesoscale Modeling of High Burn-Up Structure Formation and Evolution in UO2 Abdoelatef, M. Gomaa; Badry, Fergany; Schwen, Daniel JOM, Vol. 71, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-019-03830-z	journal	October 2019
An Experimentally Validated Mesoscale Model of Thermal Conductivity of a UO2 and BeO Composite Nuclear Fuel Badry, Fergany; Brito, Ryan; Abdoelatef, M. Gomaa JOM, Vol. 71, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-019-03831-y	journal	October 2019
Metallic fast reactor fuels Hofman, G. L.; Walters, L. C.; Bauer, T. H. Progress in Nuclear Energy, Vol. 31, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0149-1970(96)00005-4	journal	January 1997
Atomistic mechanisms of thermal transport across symmetric tilt grain boundaries in MgO Fujii, Susumu; Yokoi, Tatsuya; Yoshiya, Masato Acta Materialia, Vol. 171 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2019.04.009	journal	June 2019
An object-oriented finite element framework for multiphysics phase field simulations Tonks, Michael R.; Gaston, Derek; Millett, Paul C. Computational Materials Science, Vol. 51, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.commatsci.2011.07.028	journal	January 2012
Asymptotic expansion homogenization for multiscale nuclear fuel analysis Hales, J. D.; Tonks, M. R.; Chockalingam, K. Computational Materials Science, Vol. 99 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.commatsci.2014.12.039	journal	March 2015
A phase field modeling based study of microstructure evolution and its influence on thermal conductivity in polycrystalline tungsten under irradiation Wang, Hao; Biswas, Sudipta; Han, Yousung Computational Materials Science, Vol. 150 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.commatsci.2018.03.070	journal	July 2018
Metallic fuels for advanced reactors Carmack, W. J.; Porter, D. L.; Chang, Y. I. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 392, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2009.03.007	journal	July 2009
Migration of minor actinides and lanthanides in fast reactor metallic fuel Kim, Yeon Soo; Hofman, G. L.; Yacout, A. M. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 392, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2009.03.043	journal	July 2009
Erratum to “Meso-scale modeling of the influence of intergranular gas bubbles on effective thermal conductivity” [J. Nucl. Mater. 412 (2011) 281–286] Millett, Paul C.; Tonks, Michael Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 413, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2011.05.006	journal	June 2011
Effects of intergranular gas bubbles on thermal conductivity Chockalingam, K.; Millett, Paul C.; Tonks, M. R. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 430, Issue 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2012.06.027	journal	November 2012
Three dimensional calculations of the effective Kapitza resistance of UO2 grain boundaries containing intergranular bubbles Millett, Paul C.; Tonks, Michael R.; Chockalingam, K. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 439, Issue 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2013.02.039	journal	August 2013
Multiscale development of a fission gas thermal conductivity model: Coupling atomic, meso and continuum level simulations Tonks, Michael R.; Millett, Paul C.; Nerikar, Pankaj Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 440, Issue 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2013.05.008	journal	September 2013
Microstructural modeling of thermal conductivity of high burn-up mixed oxide fuel Teague, Melissa; Tonks, Michael; Novascone, Stephen Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 444, Issue 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2013.09.035	journal	January 2014
Thermal conductivities of actinides (U, Pu, Np, Cm, Am) and uranium-alloys (U–Zr, U–Pu–Zr and U–Pu–TRU–Zr) Kim, Yeon Soo; Cho, Tae Won; Sohn, Dong-Seong Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 445, Issue 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2013.11.018	journal	February 2014
Simulation of the impact of 3-D porosity distribution in metallic U–10Zr fuels Yun, Di; Yacout, Abdellatif M.; Stan, Marius Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 448, Issue 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2014.02.002	journal	May 2014
Assessment of effective thermal conductivity in U–Mo metallic fuels with distributed gas bubbles Hu, Shenyang; Casella, Andrew M.; Lavender, Curt A. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 462 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2015.03.039	journal	July 2015
Multiscale modeling of thermal conductivity of high burnup structures in UO2 fuels Bai, Xian-Ming; Tonks, Michael R.; Zhang, Yongfeng Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 470 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2015.12.028	journal	March 2016
Scanning electron microscopy examination of a Fast Flux Test Facility irradiated U-10Zr fuel cross section clad with HT-9 Harp, Jason M.; Porter, Douglas L.; Miller, Brandon D. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 494 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2017.07.040	journal	October 2017
Fission gas bubbles and recrystallization-induced degradation of the effective thermal conductivity in U-7Mo fuels Liang, Linyun; Kim, Yeon Soo; Mei, Zhi-Gang Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 511 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2018.09.054	journal	December 2018
Thermal conductivity of uranium metal and uranium-zirconium alloys fabricated via powder metallurgy Ortega, Luis H.; Blamer, Brandon; Stern, Karyn M. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 531 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.151982	journal	April 2020
Combined ab-initio and empirical model for irradiated metal alloys with a focus on uranium alloy fuel thermal conductivity Zhou, Shuxiang; Jacobs, Ryan; Zhang, Yongfeng Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 549 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2021.152891	journal	June 2021
Mesoscale modeling of microstructure-dependent thermal conductivity in U-Zr fuels Chen, Weiming; Bai, Xian-Ming Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 562 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2022.153593	journal	April 2022
Thermal boundary resistance correlated with strain energy in individual Si film-wafer twist boundaries Xu, D.; Hanus, R.; Xiao, Y. Materials Today Physics, Vol. 6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtphys.2018.08.002	journal	August 2018
MOOSE: Enabling massively parallel multiphysics simulation Permann, Cody J.; Gaston, Derek R.; Andrš, David SoftwareX, Vol. 11 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.softx.2020.100430	journal	January 2020
Direct Visualization of Thermal Conductivity Suppression Due to Enhanced Phonon Scattering Near Individual Grain Boundaries Sood, Aditya; Cheaito, Ramez; Bai, Tingyu Nano Letters, Vol. 18, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b00534	journal	April 2018
Quantitative prediction of grain boundary thermal conductivities from local atomic environments Fujii, Susumu; Yokoi, Tatsuya; Fisher, Craig A. J. Nature Communications, Vol. 11, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15619-9	journal	April 2020
Nanoscale thermal transport Cahill, David G.; Ford, Wayne K.; Goodson, Kenneth E. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 93, Issue 2, p. 793-818 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1524305	journal	January 2003
Thermal transport and grain boundary conductance in ultrananocrystalline diamond thin films Angadi, Maki A.; Watanabe, Taku; Bodapati, Arun Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 99, Issue 11, Article No. 114301 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2199974	journal	June 2006
Phase-field simulation of thermal conductivity in porous polycrystalline microstructures Millett, Paul C.; Wolf, Dieter; Desai, Tapan Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 104, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2964116	journal	August 2008
Misorientation dependence of Al ₂ O ₃ grain boundary thermal resistance Tai, Kaiping; Lawrence, Abigail; Harmer, Martin P. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 102, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4788688	journal	January 2013
A new model for the effective thermal conductivity of polycrystalline solids Badry, Fergany; Ahmed, Karim AIP Advances, Vol. 10, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0022375	journal	October 2020
Phase field simulation on microstructure evolution in solidification and aging process of squeeze cast magnesium alloy Pan, H. W.; Han, G. M.; Han, Z. Q. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, Vol. 84 https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/84/1/012065	journal	June 2015
Computer simulation of the domain dynamics of a quenched system with a large number of nonconserved order parameters: The grain-growth kinetics Chen, Long-Qing; Yang, Wei Physical Review B, Vol. 50, Issue 21 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.50.15752	journal	December 1994
Thermal Resistance of Grain Boundaries in Alumina Ceramics and Refractories Smith, David S.; Fayette, Sylvain; Grandjean, Sylvie Journal of the American Ceramic Society, Vol. 86, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1151-2916.2003.tb03285.x	journal	January 2003
Effective Thermal Conductivity of Composites with Interfacial Thermal Barrier Resistance Hasselman, D. P. H.; Johnson, Lloyd F. Journal of Composite Materials, Vol. 21, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1177/002199838702100602	journal	June 1987
An analysis of two classes of phase field models for void growth and coarsening in irradiated crystalline solids Ahmed, K.; El-Azab, A. Materials Theory, Vol. 2, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1186/s41313-017-0008-y	journal	January 2018
Effects of Different Types of Void Volumes on the Radial Temperature Distribution of Fuel Pins Kämpf, H.; Karsten, G. Nuclear Applications and Technology, Vol. 9, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.13182/NT70-A28783	journal	September 1970
Technical Rationale for Metal fuel in fast Reactors Chang, Yoon-Il Nuclear Engineering and Technology, Vol. 39, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.5516/NET.2007.39.3.161	journal	June 2007

Similar Records

Mesoscale modeling of microstructure-dependent thermal conductivity in U-Zr fuels

Journal Article · Wed Feb 09 19:00:00 EST 2022 · Journal of Nuclear Materials · OSTI ID:1977376

Thermal Conductivity Degradation in High Burnup U-Pu-Zr Fuel

Conference · Wed Sep 11 20:00:00 EDT 2024 · OSTI ID:2472840

Experimentally Known Properties of U-10Zr Alloys: A Critical Review

Journal Article · Mon Apr 02 20:00:00 EDT 2018 · Nuclear Technology · OSTI ID:1478233

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
Effective thermal conductivity
Interfacial thermal resistance
Mesoscale modeling
U-Zr fuels

An experimentally validated mesoscale model for the effective thermal conductivity of U-Zr fuels

Citation Formats

References (41)

Similar Records

Related Subjects