Development and verification of the LIFE-GCFR computer code for predicting gas-cooled fast-reactor fuel-rod performance

Technical Report · Mon Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1982

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7095358· OSTI ID:7095358

Hsieh, T C; Billone, M C; Rest, J

The fuel-pin modeling code LIFE-GCFR has been developed to predict the thermal, mechanical, and fission-gas behavior of a Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (GCFR) fuel rod under normal operating conditions. It consists of three major components: thermal, mechanical, and fission-gas analysis. The thermal analysis includes calculations of coolant, cladding, and fuel temperature; fuel densification; pore migration; fuel grain growth; and plenum pressure. Fuel mechanical analysis includes thermal expansion, elasticity, creep, fission-product swelling, hot pressing, cracking, and crack healing of fuel; and thermal expansion, elasticity, creep, and irradiation-induced swelling of cladding. Fission-gas analysis simultaneously treats all major mechanisms thought to influence fission-gas behavior, which include bubble nucleation, resolution, diffusion, migration, and coalescence; temperature and temperature gradients; and fission-gas interaction with structural defects.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 7095358
• Report Number(s): ANL-81-4; ON: DE83000934
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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