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Summary report describing CASL accomplishments in support of the GTRF Challenge Problem

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/3002099· OSTI ID:3002099
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [5];  [2];  [6];  [5];  [6];  [4]
  1. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  2. Blau Tribology Consulting, Candler, NC (United States)
  3. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
  4. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  5. Westinghouse Electric Corp., Pittsburgh, PA (United States)
  6. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Coolant flow-induced relative motions between structural components in the cores of lightwater nuclear reactor cores, a phenomenon called Grid-To-Rod Fretting (GTRF), can result in progressive wear damage. Wear-through of the cladding on fuel rods can introduce radioactive species into the coolant loop. Such an event is termed a “leaker” and may cause premature and expensive reactor shut-down. GTRF results in wear scars of various sizes, shapes, and depths on the sides of the fuel rod cladding. Fretting damage may also occur on the springs and dimples that hold the fuel rods in place, resulting in the formation of gaps. Due to variability in the operating conditions of the reactor (burn-up rates and operating campaigns) and the associated variable cladding surface oxide film growth and removal rates, the wear coefficient is unlikely to remain constant over time. Therefore, constant wear rate models do not accurately account for transients in the operating conditions.
Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
3002099
Report Number(s):
CASL-U--2017-1429-000
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS