Influence of point defect accumulation on in-pile thermal conductivity degradation: Fuel rod defect distribution and deviation between in-pile and post irradiation thermal conductivity

Ferrigno, Joshua; Adnan, Saqeeb; Khafizov, Marat

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2022.154108

Influence of point defect accumulation on in-pile thermal conductivity degradation: Fuel rod defect distribution and deviation between in-pile and post irradiation thermal conductivity

Journal Article · Sun Oct 30 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Journal of Nuclear Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2022.154108· OSTI ID:2424993

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The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States)

As nuclear fuel burn-up increases, its thermal conductivity degrades due to the accumulation of defects that lead to increased phonon scattering rates. This results in a rise in the centerline temperature of the fuel rod, whereby heat generation must be decreased to avoid undesired behavior such as fuel melting and extensive fission gas release. Fuel performance codes are utilized to optimize the fuel's operational conditions; while they are based on established physical principles, their empirical nature limits their predictive capabilities. Recently, an effort has been made to develop predictive fuel performance codes for commonly used nuclear fuels, as well as accelerated qualification of advanced nuclear fuels. In this report, we elaborate on the importance of careful analysis of point defects’ impact on thermal conductivity in fuel performance analysis. Further, a model is presented where point defect concentration is estimated based on Rate Theory modeling and used as input to the Klemens-Callaway model to calculate their contribution to the degradation of thermal conductivity in UO₂ under prototypical irradiation conditions. This analysis suggests that point defect concentration is significant at the rim of the fuel pellet and neglecting this leads to underestimation of the centerline temperature, which may have consequences on fission gas behavior.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Thermal Energy Transport under Irradiation (TETI)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

OSTI ID:: 2424993

Journal Information:: Journal of Nuclear Materials, Journal Name: Journal of Nuclear Materials Journal Issue: C Vol. 573; ISSN 0022-3115

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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