Ceramic nuclear fuel fracture modeling with the extended finite element method

Jiang, Wen; Spencer, Benjamin W.; Dolbow, John E.

doi:10.1016/j.engfracmech.2019.106713

Title: Ceramic nuclear fuel fracture modeling with the extended finite element method

Journal Article · 24 October 2019 · Engineering Fracture Mechanics

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfracmech.2019.106713 · OSTI ID:1575375

^[1];

^[1]; Dolbow, John E. ^[2]

Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Duke Univ., Durham, NC (United States). Civil and Environmental Engineering

Ceramic fuel pellets used in nuclear light water reactors experience significant fracture due to the high thermal gradients experienced under normal operating conditions. This has important effects on the performance of the fuel system. Because of this, a realistic, physically based fracture modeling capability is essential to predict fuel behavior in a wide variety of normal and off-normal conditions. The extended finite element method (X-FEM) is a powerful method to represent arbitrary propagating discrete cracks in finite element models, and has many characteristics that make it attractive for nuclear fuel performance analysis. This paper describes the implementation of X-FEM in a multiphysics fuel performance code and presents applications of that capability. These applications include several thermal mechanics fracture benchmark problems, which demonstrate the accuracy of this approach. It also includes application of this capability to study nuclear fuel fracture, both on stationary and propagating cracks. The study on stationary cracks shows the effects that varying the number of radial cracks and the length of those cracks have on the energy release rate. Here, the propagating crack case demonstrates random initiation and subsequent propagation of interacting thermally induced cracks during an initial ramp to full power with fresh fuel.

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Research Organization:: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE); Idaho National Laboratory LDRD

Grant/Contract Number:: AC07-05ID14517

OSTI ID:: 1575375

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1775732

Report Number(s):: INL/JOU-18-44950-Rev000; TRN: US2001147

Journal Information:: Engineering Fracture Mechanics, Vol. 223; ISSN 0013-7944

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Citation Metrics:

Cited by: 41 works

Citation information provided by
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