Preliminary Development of a TRISO Fuel Performance Analysis Code: FFAT

Abstract

Tristructural isotropic (TRISO) fuel particles are chosen as the major fuel type of High temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR). The TRISO coated particle also acts as the first barrier for radioactivity retention. The performance of the TRISO coated particle has a significant influence on the safety of HTGR. A set of fuel performance analysis codes have been developed during the past decades. The main functions of these codes are conducting stress calculation and failure probability prediction. PANAMA is a widely used German version fuel performance analysis code, which simulates the mechanical performance of TRISO coated particle under normal and accident conditions. In this code, only a simple pressure vessel model is considered, which is insufficient in stress analysis and fuel failure rate prediction. Nowadays, efforts have been done to update the fuel performance model utilized in PANAMA code, and a new TRISO fuel performance analysis code, FFAT, is under developed. This paper describes the newly updated TRISO fuel performance model and presents some first results based on the updated model.