Modeling and design of a separate effects irradiation test targeting fission gas release from Cr-doped UO2

Gorton, Jacob P.; Le Coq, Annabelle G.; Wallen, Zane G.; Petrie, Christian M.; White, Joshua T.; Dunwoody, John T.; Mann, Shane; Capps, Nathan A.; Nelson, Andrew T.

doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2024.113571

Modeling and design of a separate effects irradiation test targeting fission gas release from Cr-doped UO₂

Journal Article · Fri Sep 13 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · Nuclear Engineering and Design

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2024.113571· OSTI ID:2447306

Gorton, Jacob P. ^[1]; Le Coq, Annabelle G. ^[1]; ^[1]; ^[1]; White, Joshua T. ^[2]; Dunwoody, John T. ^[2]; Mann, Shane ^[2]; Capps, Nathan A. ^[1]; ^[1]

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Fission gas release (FGR) from nuclear fuel during operation can diminish heat transfer properties across the pellet-cladding gap and increase the fuel rod internal pressure, thereby posing a concern to fuel reliability and safety during an accident. Enlarging the fuel grain size, which has been shown to improve fission gas retention, can be achieved by doping the fuel feedstock prior to sintering. In this work, the BISON fuel performance code was used to predict FGR from undoped and chromia-doped UO₂ (referred to as Cr-doped UO₂) fuel specimens with different grain sizes and across various temperatures. The BISON models identified the irradiation conditions for which FGR is most significant, and a separate effects irradiation experiment in the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) was then developed targeting those conditions. Further, the experiment leveraged the MiniFuel irradiation capability at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and consisted of 12 fuel specimens of varying grain size and Cr content. A coupling scheme between BISON FGR results and the ANSYS finite element thermal model used for experiment design was formulated to predict cumulative FGR from each fuel specimen based on expected irradiation temperature histories. The fuel samples were fabricated and characterized as a part of this work, and the fuel compositions modeled in BISON were representative of the specimens used in the experiment. This combined modeling and experimental effort aims to study the effect of fuel grain size and Cr content on FGR and to provide simulated BISON FGR results that can be used for future model validation activities.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation; USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

OSTI ID:: 2447306

Journal Information:: Nuclear Engineering and Design, Journal Name: Nuclear Engineering and Design Vol. 429; ISSN 0029-5493

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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