Multiphysics thermo-mechanical behavior modeling for annular uranium-plutonium mixed oxide fuels in a lead-cooled fast reactor

Abstract

Understanding and predicting nuclear fuel behavior is the cornerstone for fuel design and optimization, and the safe and economic operation of nuclear reactors. Due to the excellent neutronic economy and safe operational characteristics of lead/lead-bismuth-based liquid metal coolant, lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR) has received much attention and has been regarded as one of the top candidate reactors for Generation IV nuclear power plants. Mixed oxide (MOX) fuel is beneficial to improve fuel cycle utilization and consume weapons-grade plutonium, among which hollow MOX fuel has excellent heat transfer advantages, which can further improve fuel economy and safety, and has good development prospects. In this work, an annular uranium-plutonium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel operating in a liquid lead/lead-bismuth cooled fast reactor is modeled and simulated to predict its behavior under transient and steady-state operation. This model has several modules working in a fully coupled approach based on COMSOL Multiphysics, such as heat transfer, fuel burnup, oxygen redistribution, plutonium redistribution, porosity evolution, fission gas release, JOG growth, and grain size evolution. The modeling results were benchmarked with the existing codes and experimental data, and the results were in satisfactory agreement. The parameters analysis was carried out in this work. Consistent with the solid MOX fuel, the O/M ratio (or deviation from the stoichiometry of oxygen) significantly affects temperature evolution, fission gas migration and release behavior, and plutonium redistribution. Linear power also has a significant influence on fuel performance.