Skip to main content
OSTI.GOVU.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
 

Recent High Burnup LOCA Testing at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/2448163· OSTI ID:2448163
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
To improve fuel cycle economics, increasing the fuel burnup limit in light-water reactors requires a solid technical foundation. Observations from experiments at Halden and Studsvik highlighted severe fuel fragmentation during loss-of-coolant-accident (LOCA) conditions, indicating a need for further technical considerations. These experiments suggest that the fragmentation threshold for high-burnup fuel might be influenced by pre-transient power levels. Consequently, additional LOCA test data are essential to complement existing findings and to deepen our understanding. Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Severe Accident Test Station has been instrumental in advancing knowledge about high-burnup fuel fragmentation, relocation, and dispersal. This milestone report details two high-burnup LOCA tests designed to evaluate the effects of terminal temperature and grid spacers (or cladding restraints) on fuel fragmentation and relocation susceptibility. In addition, BISON fuel performance modeling and out-of-cell benchmark testing were conducted to better interpret the in-cell test results. These tests were developed in collaboration with fuel vendors to ensure that the results provide valuable data for topical reports and support the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s review.
Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
2448163
Report Number(s):
ORNL/SPR--2024/3544
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Integral LOCA fragmentation test on high-burnup fuel
Journal Article · Fri Aug 28 20:00:00 EDT 2020 · Nuclear Engineering and Design · OSTI ID:1657970
Evaluation of Mechanistic and Empirical Models against Existing FFRD and LOCA Experimental Databases
Technical Report · Thu Sep 29 20:00:00 EDT 2022 · OSTI ID:2382676
A LOCA Analysis Tool: Coupling RELAP5-3D to BISON
Technical Report · Sun Mar 30 20:00:00 EDT 2025 · OSTI ID:3029197

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS