Rod Degradation Research Articles

Modeling the behavior of Xe, I, Cs, Te, Ba, and Sr in solid and liquefied fuel during severe accidents

Abstract This paper describes the primary physical/chemical models recently incorporated into a mechanistic code (FASTGRASS) for the estimation of fission product release from fuel, and compares predicted results with test data. The theory of noble gas behavior is discussed in relation to its effect on the release behavior of I, Cs, Te, Ba, and Sr. The behavior of these fission products in the presence of fuel liquefaction/dissolution and grain-growth phenomena is presented, as is the chemistry of Sr, Ba, I, and Cs. Comparison of code predictions with data indicates the following trends. Fission product release behavior from solid fuel strongly depends on fuel microstructure, irradiation history, time at temperature, and internal fuel rod chemistry. Fuel liquefaction/dissolution, fracturing, and oxidation also exert a pronounced effect on release during fuel rod degradation. For low burnup fuel (e.g., TMI-2), appreciable fission product retention in previously liquefied fuel can occur due to the low concentration of fission products, and the limited growth of bubbles in the liquefied material. Many of the calculations described in this paper were made with a version of FASTGRASS developed for use on a personal computer (IBM compatibile).