Rod Internal Pressure Research Articles

Performance analysis of UO2 fuel rod for low-power research reactor application

A concept of low-power research reactor (LPRR) with innovative design features is recently proposed by Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) in South Korea. A conventional UO2-Zircaloy 4 fuel rod is proposed to be used as a driver fuel for the operation since it is advantageous to employ the conventional fuel rod in terms of sustainable long-term operation and cost-efficiency of the LPRR. The fuel rod for the given core specification was designed in detail.The performance analysis for UO2-Zircaloy 4 fuel rod was conducted to show its irradiation behaviors with the modification of FRAPCON code which is utilized for the commercial UO2 fuel performance analysis. Temperature distribution from fuel pellet centerline to bulk coolant was estimated, in which fuel centerline temperature at the axial peak power location was much lower than fuel melting temperature. The design analysis for the fuel safety in terms of rod internal pressure and cladding hoop stress was addressed to confirm the applicability of the fuel rod in the LPRR.

Predicting behavior of AP-1000 nuclear reactor fuel rod under steady state operating condition by using FRAPCON-4.0 software

This paper reports the results on the predictions of behavior of AP-1000 nuclear reactor fuel rod under steady state operating condition by using FRAPCON-4.0 software. The predictive items were the temperature distribution in the fuel rod, including fuel centerline temperature, fuel pellet surface temperature, gas temperature, cladding inside and outside temperature, oxide surface and bulk coolant temperature; and gap conductance and thickness.The predictive items also include deformation of fuel pellets, fission gas release and rod internal pressure, cladding oxidation and hydration. The predictive data were suggested the fuel rod behavior image in nuclear reactor.

Mechanical Property Degradation of Unirradiated Zircaloy-4 Cladding After Creep Deformation

One of the limiting mechanisms of pressurized water reactor spent fuel cladding is creep owing to high temperature and rod internal pressure. Based on extensive studies, many countries have tentatively concluded that creep rupture is hard to occur under dry storage conditions and cannot severely degrade the integrity of the cladding if it meets the 400°C limitation owing to a self-limiting property. However, the changes in mechanical properties after creep deformation are not well understood due to the limited amount of relevant tests and analyses. In this regard, mechanical property degradation of unirradiated Zircaloy-4 cladding by creep deformation was investigated using a ring compression test and microscopic observation. In addition, the implication regarding spent fuel cladding integrity based on the test results is described.

FRAPCON analysis of cladding performance during dry storage operations

Abstract There is an increasing need in the United States and around the world to move used nuclear fuel from wet storage in fuel pools to dry storage in casks stored at independent spent fuel storage installations or interim storage sites. Under normal conditions, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission limits cladding temperature to 400°C for high-burnup (>45 GWd/mtU) fuel, with higher temperatures allowed for low-burnup fuel. An analysis was conducted with FRAPCON-4.0 on three modern fuel designs with three representative used nuclear fuel storage temperature profiles that peaked at 400°C. Results were representative of the majority of US light water reactor fuel. They conservatively showed that hoop stress remains below 90 MPa at the licensing temperature limit. Results also show that the limiting case for hoop stress may not be at the highest rod internal pressure in all cases but will be related to the axial temperature and oxidation profiles of the rods at the end of life and in storage.

Characterization of end-of-life rod internal pressure in PWR fuel

The end-of-life (EOL) fuel rod internal pressure (RIP) is a critical parameter for assessing the performance of spent fuel during dry storage and transportation. At issue are several potential degradation mechanisms that are strongly dependent on rod internal pressure. Experimental EOL RIP data of pressurized water reactor (PWR) spent fuel rods were compiled from available non-proprietary sources and used to develop a model that quantifies the fuel rod’s gas content in terms of its molar mass, from which the rod internal pressure can be derived using the ideal gas law. Application of the model is illustrated using temperature profiles measured in a spent fuel storage system. The results show that for rod-average burnup of ∼60GWd/MTU and peak cladding temperature as high as 400°C, cladding stresses are less than 100MPa for the clear majority of spent PWR fuel.

Rod internal pressure of spent nuclear fuel and its effects on cladding degradation during dry storage

Temperature and hoop stress limits have been used to prevent the gross rupture of spent nuclear fuel during dry storage. The stress due to rod internal pressure can induce cladding degradation such as creep, hydride reorientation, and delayed hydride cracking. Creep is a self-limiting phenomenon in a dry storage system; in contrast, hydride reorientation and delayed hydride cracking are potential degradation mechanisms activated at low temperatures when the cladding material is brittle. In this work, a conservative rod internal pressure and corresponding hoop stress were calculated using FRAPCON-4.0 fuel performance code. Based on the hoop stresses during storage, a study on the onset of hydride reorientation and delayed hydride cracking in spent nuclear fuel was conducted under the current storage guidelines. Hydride reorientation is hard to occur in most of the low burn-up fuel while some high burn-up fuel can experience hydride reorientation, but their effect may not be significant. On the other hand, delayed hydride cracking will not occur in spent nuclear fuel from pressurized water reactor; however, there is a lack of confirmatory data on threshold intensity factor for delayed hydride cracking and crack size distribution in the fuel.

Rod Internal Pressure Distribution and Uncertainty Analysis Using FRAPCON

The discharge rod internal pressure (RIP) and cladding hoop stress (CHS) distributions are quantified for Watts Bar Nuclear Unit 1 (WBN1) fuel rods by modeling core cycle design data, operation data, and as-built fuel enrichments and densities of each fuel rod in FRAPCON-3.5. A methodology is developed that tracks intercycle assembly movements and assembly batch fabrication information to build individual FRAPCON inputs for each evaluated WBN1 fuel rod. An alternate model for the amount of helium released from the zirconium diboride (ZrB2) integral fuel burnable absorber (IFBA) layer is derived and applied to FRAPCON output data to quantify the RIP and CHS for these types of fuel rods. SCALE/Polaris is used to quantify fuel rod–specific spectral quantities and the amount of gaseous fission products produced in the fuel for use in FRAPCON inputs. Fuel rods with ZrB2 IFBA layers (i.e., IFBA rods) are determined to have RIP predictions that are elevated when compared to fuel rods without IFBA layers (i.e., standard rods) despite the fact that IFBA rods often have reduced fill pressures and annular fuel pellets. The primary contributor to elevated RIP predictions at burnups less than and greater than 30 GWd/tonne U is determined to be the total fuel rod void volume and the amount of released fission gas in the fuel rod, respectively. Cumulative distribution functions (CDFs) are prepared from the distribution of RIP and CHS predictions for all standard and IFBA rods. The provided CDFs allow for the determination of the portion of WBN1 fuel rods that exceeds a specified RIP or CHS limit. Results are separated into IFBA and standard rods so that the two groups may be analyzed individually. FRAPCON results are provided in sufficient detail to enable the recalculation of the RIP while considering any desired plenum gas temperature, total void volume, or total amount of gas present in the void volume. A method to predict the CHS from a determined or assumed RIP is also proposed that is based on the approximately linear relationship between the CHS and the RIP. Finally, improvements to the computational methodology of FRAPCON are proposed.

Cladding burst behavior of Fe-based alloys under LOCA

Burst behavior of austenitic and ferritic Fe-based alloy tubes has been examined under a simulated large break loss of coolant accident. Specifically, type 304 stainless steel (304SS) and oxidation resistant FeCrAl tubes were studied alongside Zircaloy-2 and Zircaloy-4 that are considered reference fuel cladding materials. Following the burst test, characterization of the cladding materials was carried out to gain insights regarding the integral burst behavior. Given the widespread availability of a comprehensive set of thermo-mechanical data at elevated temperatures for 304SS, a modeling framework was implemented to simulate the various processes that affect burst behavior in this Fe-based alloy. The most important conclusion is that cladding ballooning due to creep is negligible for Fe-based alloys. Thus, unlike Zr-based alloys, cladding cross-sectional area remains largely unchanged up to the point of burst. Therefore, for a given rod internal pressure, the temperature onset of burst in Fe-based alloys appears to be simply a function of the alloy's ultimate tensile strength, particularly at high rod internal pressures.

Thermal shock fracture of hot silicon carbide immersed in water

High purity CVD-SiC, considered as a nuclear grade cladding material, exhibits thermal shock tolerance ∼1260 °C in room temperature water and beyond it (>1260 °C) in saturated water. Being thinner than the tested specimen thickness (1.5 mm × 2.0 mm), the actual cladding (0.57 mm) is anticipated to exhibit enhanced thermal shock tolerance. This implies that thermal shock alone may not shatter the SiC cladding in reflood. Level of fuel rod internal pressure will be a decisive factor in predicting cladding fracture during reflood. Decreasing water subcooling significantly reduces thermal shock fracture danger of ceramic materials. Thermal shock experiments showed strength retention for both pressureless sintered-SiC and CVD SiC, as well as Al2O3 samples quenched from temperatures up to 1260 °C in saturated water. Solid–liquid contacts during nucleate and transition boiling, and boiling incipience upon water bath entering are a highly probable origin of thermal shock fracture in water quenching.

Experimental investigation on the causes for pellet fragmentation under LOCA conditions

This paper addresses a separate effect experiment performed with irradiated fuel to study fuel fragmentation and fission gas release during a loss of coolant accident (LOCA). The paper presents a qualitative and quantitative investigation of the effects of the removal of the geometrical constraint provided by the cladding and the removal of the constraint given by the rod internal pressure in determining the extent of fuel fragmentation and fission gas release during a LOCA for fuel segments with a burnup of approximately 52 MWd/kgU. A review of previous LOCA tests was the starting point for the identification of these constraints and for the selection of the fuel rod burnup, the experiment's procedure and the boundary conditions. An out-of-pile test was considered representative for the scope, and the experiment was performed at the Halden Reactor Project hot cell in Kjeller (Norway) with heat provided by an electric oven. Three fuel rod segments were studied: 1) a fuel segment that experienced only ballooning without burst, 2) a fuel segment that experienced ballooning and burst and 3) a fuel segment that experienced neither ballooning nor burst. The neutron radiography and fuel fragment sifting showed that both cladding constraint and internal pressure play a role in the formation of fuel cracks and fragmentation, and the study of the fission gas release during the transient showed that removing the cladding constraint or the internal pressure increased the amount of fission gas release.

Gas releases and rod internal pressure of BN-added UO2 fuel

Gadolinium (Gd), in the form of gadolinia (Gd2O3), has been used as integral burnable absorber to UO2 fuel by different companies. Recently, alternative burnable absorber materials are under investigation. In this paper, the results of the study on the use of boron mixed in UO2 as an integral burnable absorber are presented. Boron nitride was selected as the form of B to be added to UO2 fuel based on the stability of B during sintering. Fuel performance analysis code FRAPCON-UNI, which is based on FRAPCON code and has the modifications for boron and helium generation and gasses release models, was used for the calculation of fuel performance. Helium generation was calculated using a model and the result was verified against ORIGEN calculation results. Gas release calculation was based on Forsberg Massih model and different characteristics of the gasses were considered. Power histories of maximum burnup rods (B rod, no B rod, and Gd rod) were selected from reactor physics data. The results indicated significant increases in rod internal pressure by 500 ppm boron addition at the end of life with minimum influence of a grain boundary boron fraction due to high diffusivity of helium and nitrogen.

FUEL PERFORMANCE CODE COSMOS FOR ANALYSIS OF LWR UO2AND MOX FUEL

The paper briefs a fuel performance code, COSMOS, which can be utilized for an analysis of the thermal behavior and fission gas release of fuel, up to a high burnup. Of particular concern are the models for the fuel thermal conductivity, the fission gas release, and the cladding corrosion and creep in UO2 fuel. In addition, the code was developed so as to consider the inhomogeneity of MOX fuel, which requires restructuring the thermal conductivity and fission gas release models. These improvements enhanced COSMOS’s precision for predicting the in-pile behavior of MOX fuel. The COSMOS code also extends its applicability to the instrumented fuel test in a research reactor. The various in-pile test results were analyzed and compared with the code’s prediction. The database consists of the UO2 irradiation test up to an ultra-high burnup, power ramp test of MOX fuel, and instrumented MOX fuel test in a research reactor after base irradiation in a commercial reactor. The comparisons demonstrated that the COSMOS code predicted the in-pile behaviors well, such as the fuel temperature, rod internal pressure, fission gas release, and cladding properties of MOX and UO2 fuel. This sufficient accuracy reveals that the COSMOS can be utilized by both fuel vendors for fuel design, and license organizations for an understanding of fuel in-pile behaviors.

Modelling and Simulation of Reactor Fuel Cladding under Loss-of-Coolant Accident Conditions

We present a unified model for calculation of zirconium alloy fuel cladding rupture during a postulated loss-of-coolant accident in light water reactors. The model treats the Zr alloy solid-to-solid phase transformation kinetics, cladding creep deformation, oxidation, and rupture as functions of temperature and time in an integrated fashion during the transient. The fuel cladding material considered here is Zircaloy-4, for which material property data (model parameters) are taken from the literature. We have modelled and simulated single-rod transient burst tests in which the rod internal pressure and the heating rate were kept constant during each test. The results are compared with experimental data on cladding rupture strain, temperature, and pressure. The agreement between computations and measurements in general is satisfactory. The effects of heating rate and rod internal pressure on the rupture strain are evaluated on the basis of systematic parameter variations of these quantities. In the α-phase of Zr, the burst strain decreases with increasing heating rate, whereas in the two-phase coexistence (α + β) domain and α-phase, the situation is more complex. Also, the mechanism for creep deformation in the (α + β) domain is not well understood; hence, its mechanistic constitutive relation is presently unknown.

Modelling and Simulation of Reactor Fuel Cladding under Loss-of-Coolant Accident Conditions

We present a unified model for calculation of zirconium alloy fuel cladding rupture during a postulated loss-of-coolant accident in light water reactors. The model treats the Zr alloy solid-to-solid phase transformation kinetics, cladding creep deformation, oxidation, and rupture as functions of temperature and time in an integrated fashion during the transient. The fuel cladding material considered here is Zircaloy-4, for which material property data (model parameters) are taken from the literature. We have modelled and simulated single-rod transient burst tests in which the rod internal pressure and the heating rate were kept constant during each test. The results are compared with experimental data on cladding rupture strain, temperature, and pressure. The agreement between computations and measurements in general is satisfactory. The effects of heating rate and rod internal pressure on the rupture strain are evaluated on the basis of systematic parameter variations of these quantities. In the α-phase of Zr, the burst strain decreases with increasing heating rate, whereas in the two-phase coexistence (α + β) domain and α-phase, the situation is more complex. Also, the mechanism for creep deformation in the (α + β) domain is not well understood; hence, its mechanistic constitutive relation is presently unknown.

Irradiation Test of MOX Fuel Rods Fabricated by Attrition-Milling and Analysis of In-Pile Data with COSMOS Code

Attrition-milling technology for fabricating mixed oxide (MOX) fuel was developed to mix the plutonium in UO2 fuels as homogeneously as possible. The fabricated MOX fuels were instrumented with temperature and pressure gauges that enabled one to measure the fuel temperature and rod internal pressure online. An irradiation test in the Halden reactor was performed to investigate the in-pile behavior of the fabricated MOX fuel. The irradiation of 1020 effective full-power days was successfully accomplished with good integrity of the test fuel rods. The rod average burnup reached ~50 MWd/kg HM, and the measured fuel centerline temperature was ~1000°C for the MOX fuels. A significant fission gas release was observed due to the high power level. The online measured in-pile performance data of the two attrition-milled MOX fuel rods were analyzed and compared with the fuel performance code COSMOS. COSMOS simulated the fuel centerline temperature and rod internal pressure for both MOX fuel rods. The analysis by COSMOS showed good agreement with the online measured in-pile behavior of MOX fuel.

The study on a statistical methodology for PWR fuel rod internal pressure evaluation

The most limiting design criteria for high Burnup PWR fuel are known to be rod internal pressure and cladding oxidation. Some fuel vendors have been increasing the design margin of rod internal pressure by increasing fuel rod plenum volume or optimizing fuel pellet grain size. In this study, a sophisticated statistical methodology that employs the response surface method and Monte Carlo simulation has been proposed to increase the design margin of rod internal pressure and subsequently a simplified statistical methodology has been developed to simplify the sophisticated statistical methodology. The simplified statistical methodology utilizes the system moment method combined with a deterministic approach for calculating a maximum variance of rod internal pressure. This simplified statistical methodology may be more efficient in the reload core fuel rod performance analyses than the sophisticated statistical methodology since the former eliminates numerous calculations needed for the evaluation of power history-dependent variances. It is found that this simplified methodology also generates more conservative rod internal pressure than the typical statistical methodology.

The effect of axial fuel rod power profile on fuel temperature and cladding strain

The most limiting design criteria for nuclear reactor normal operating conditions (ANS Condition I) are known to be rod internal pressure and cladding oxidation, while those for nuclear reactor transient operating conditions (ANS Conditon II) to be fuel centerline temperature and transient cladding total tensile strain. However, the design margins against fuel temperature and transient cladding tensile strain become smaller since power uprating is being or will be utilized for the most of nuclear power reactors to enhance the economics of nuclear power. In order to secure sufficient design margins against fuel temperature and cladding total tensile strain even for power uprating, the current axial rod power profiles used in the reactor transient analysis were optimized to reduce over-conservatism, considering that 118% overpower of a steady-state peak rod average power was not exceeded during the reactor transients. The comparison of the current axial rod power profiles and the optimized ones indicates that the latter reduces the fuel centerline temperature and cladding total tensile strain by 26°C and 0.02%, respectively.

HIGH BURNUP FUEL ISSUES

One of the major current challenges to nuclear energy lies in its competitiveness. To stay competitive the industry needs to reduce maintenance and fuel cycle costs, while enhancing safety features. Extended burnup is one of the methods applied to meet these objectives However, there are a number of potential fuel failure causes related to increased burnup, as follows: l) Corrosion of zirconium alloy cladding and the water chemistry parameters that enhance corrosion; 2) Dimensional changes of zirconium alloy components, 3) Stresses that challenge zirconium alloy ductility and the effect of hydrogen (H) pickup and redistribution as it affects ductility, 4) Fuel rod internal pressure, 5) Pellet-cladding interactions (PCI) and 6) pellet-cladding mechanical interactions (PCMI). This paper discusses current and potential failure mechanisms of these failure mechanisms.

Improvement of Fuel Performance Code COSMOS with Recent In-Pile Data for MOX and UO2 Fuels

A fuel performance code, COSMOS, was developed for an analysis of the thermal behavior and fission gas release of both mixed-oxide (MOX) and UO2 fuels up to high burnup. The models have been improved for the fuel thermal conductivity, the fission gas release, and the cladding corrosion and creep. In particular, the thermal conductivity and fission gas release models were restructured with due consideration for the inhomogeneity of the MOX fuel. These improvements enhanced COSMOS’s precision for predicting the in-pile behavior of the MOX fuel. The COSMOS code also extends its applicability to the sophisticatedly instrumented fuel test in a research reactor. With the improved models, the recent in-pile test results were analyzed and compared with the code’s prediction. The database consists of the instrumented MOX fuel test in a research reactor, the postirradiation examination results after an irradiation in a commercial reactor, and a preliminary instrumented test in the HANARO reactor. With the rigorously characterized fabrication data and irradiation information, the COSMOS code predicted the in-pile behaviors well, such as the fuel temperature, rod internal pressure, fission gas release, and cladding properties of MOX and UO2 fuels. The estimations by COSMOS also demonstrated its applicability to the instrumented irradiation test.

Analysis of MOX fuel behavior in reduced-moderation water reactor by fuel performance code FEMAXI-RM

To assess the feasibility of the 31% Pu-MOX fuel rod design of reduced-moderation water reactor (RMWR) in terms of thermal and mechanical behaviors, a single rod assumed to be irradiated in the core of RMWR up to 106 GWd/tHM has been analyzed by a fuel performance code FEMAXI-RM which is an extended version of FEMAXI-6 code. In the analysis, design specifications of fuel rod and irradiation conditions have been input, and available models of both MOX fuel and UO 2 fuel have been used as appropriate. The results are: fission gas release is several tens of percent, rod internal pressure does not exceed the coolant pressure, and the highest fuel center temperature is 2400 K, while cladding diameter increase caused by pellet swelling is within 1% strain. These predictions suggest that the MOX fuel rod integrity will be held during irradiation in RMWR, though actual behavior of MOX pellet swelling and cladding oxidation require to be investigated in detail.