The effect of fuel rod supporting conditions on fuel rod vibration characteristics and grid-to-rod fretting wear

The grid-to-rod fretting wear-induced fuel rod failure observed in PWRs may be caused by excessive fluid-induced vibration and inadequate fuel rod support by the spacer grid spring. In order to simulate in-reactor grid-to-rod fretting wear behaviors, the grid-to-rod fuel rod supporting conditions as a function of time were predicted by taking into account cladding creep rate, initial spacer grid spring deflection, spacer grid spring force relaxation, etc. Based on these grid-to-rod supporting conditions, the fuel rod vibration modes and natural frequencies were calculated with the help of the ANSYS code, while the fuel rod vibration amplitudes were estimated by the Paidoussis’ empirical formula. With these vibration characteristics that depend upon the grid-to-rod supporting conditions, the in-reactor fretting wear axial profile observed on the fuel rod surface are found to be simulated quite well. In addition, key design guidelines for the fuel assembly and the spacer grid are proposed to minimize the grid-to-rod fretting wear that may be utilized to develop an advanced fuel design against fretting wear.     

A study on the grid-to-rod fretting wear-induced fuel failure observed in the 16×16KOFA fuel

The burnup-dependent grid-to-rod gap combined with the fluid-induced vibration may generate grid-to-rod fretting wear-induced fuel failure for some fuel assemblies in a certain burnup range. The systematic grid-to-rod fretting wear-induced fuel failure occurred at the 16×16 Korean Optimized Fuel Assembly loaded in the 2-loop Westinghouse type plant in Korea. Prior to various tests and some measurements for investigating its root causes, they were assumed to be self-excited fuel assembly vibration caused by hydraulic-unbalanced mixing vane design, excessive cross-flow between fuel assemblies during the transition core, or relatively large grid-to-rod gap formation during in-reactor irradiation that may be caused by excessive initial spring force loss of fresh fuel during a fuel rod loading process and/or a fuel assembly transport to a plant and by excessive cladding creep-down. A wide spectrum of tests and some measurements were performed to find out root cause(s) of the grid-to-rod fretting wear-induced fuel failure. Based on these tests and measurements, it is concluded that the self-excited fuel assembly vibration is the primary root cause, while excessive initial spring force loss during the fuel rod loading process is the second major root cause.     

The study on grid-to-rod fretting wear models for PWR fuel

The fretting wear is found to be generated at grid-to-rod contact areas by flow-induced vibration. This flow-induced grid-to-rod fretting wear may be initiated at a certain critical grid-to-rod gap that strongly depends on the extent of flow-induced vibration and grid spring designs. Three fretting wear excitation mechanisms acting on the grid-to-rod fretting wear are summarized. In order to examine the impact of grid spring designs on the fretting wear rate, the fretting wear tests for three kinds of grid spring designs were carried out for 500 h, simulating the reactor flow conditions. In parallel, three grid-to-rod fretting wear models that include constant work rate model, constant work density rate model and linear work density rate model have been developed. The three fretting wear models were used to predict the fuel rod perforation times with the use of the fretting wear test results. It is said that the constant work density rate model or the linear work density rate model is quite effective in predicting the grid-to-rod fretting-induced rod failure time observed in commercial nuclear power plants.     

Grid-to-rod flow-induced impact study for PWR fuel in reactor

Dynamic contact impact from hydraulic flow-induced fuel assembly vibration is the source for grid-to-rod fretting in a pressurized water nuclear reactor (PWR). To support grid-to-rod fretting wear mitigation research, finite element analysis (FEA) was used to evaluate the hydraulic flow-induced impact intensity between the fuel rods and the spacer grids. Three-dimensional FEA models, with detailed geometries of the dimple and spring of the actual spacer grids along with fuel rods, were developed for flow impact simulation. The grid-to-rod dynamic impact simulation provided insights of the contact phenomena at grid-rod interface. It is an essential and effective way to evaluate contact forces and provide guidance for simulative bench fretting-impact tests.     

Optimization of a nuclear fuel spacer grid spring using homology constraints

The springs in a spacer grid support the fuel rods in a nuclear fuel system. The spacer grid is part of the fuel assembly. Since the spring has repeated contact with the fuel rod, fretting wear occurs on the surface of the fuel rod. Design is usually performed to reduce the wear while the functions of the spring are maintained. The design process for the spring is defined by using the Independence Axiom of axiomatic design and the design is carried out based on the direction that the design matrix indicates. For a detailed design, an optimization problem is formulated. In optimization, a homologous design is employed to reduce the fretting wear. The deformation of a structure is called homologous if a given geometrical relationship holds for a certain number of structural points before, during, and after the deformation. In this case, the deformed shape of the spring should be the same as that of the fuel rod. This condition is transformed to a function and considered as a constraint in the optimization process. The fretting wear is expected to be reduced due to the homology constraint. The objective function is minimizing the maximum stress to allow local plastic deformation. Optimization results show that contact occurs in a wide range. The results are verified by non-linear finite element analysis.     

Development of an advanced PWR fuel for OPR1000s in Korea

The advanced PWR fuel for the OPR1000s in Korea, PLUS7, has been developed to enhance thermal performance, high burnup capability and fuel reliability against grid-to-rod fretting wear and debris. The outstanding design features of PLUS7 include mixing vane mid-grids for increasing thermal performance and minimizing vibration-induced fretting wear, optimized fuel dimensions and advanced zirconium alloys for high burnup capability of 72,000 MWD/MTU, and an optimized fuel rod diameter for reducing pressure drop and improving neutron economy. The fuel assembly and its components performances have been verified through a wide spectrum of mechanical, thermal hydraulic, vibration and fretting wear tests. Based on the verification test results and the evaluations with the help of the KNF design code system, it is found that the PLUS7 fuel will maintain its integrity up to the envisaged burnup of 72,000 MWD/MTU. In addition, the PLUS7 fuel performances were evaluated to be considerably improved in comparison with the current fuel used in the OPR1000s.     

带格架5×5燃料棒束流致振动特性数值研究

核反应堆中,流动的冷却剂轴向冲刷燃料棒可能导致其振动,产生微动磨损,对整个核电厂的安全性以及经济性有重要影响。带格架棒束流致振动特性的研究是微动磨损研究的基础。本文基于欧拉-伯努利（Euler-Bernoulli）梁理论,采用动网格技术,通过Fluent实现流固耦合数值计算,并与不考虑振动耦合时的流场分布进行比较分析。重点分析了湍流强度、轴向速度等主要流体参数对振动位移均方根的影响,以及轴向流中流致振动机理。结果表明：燃料棒的振动位移均方根随着流速的增大而增大;燃料棒径向两侧的压力脉动是造成振动的因素之一;定位格架改变了较大振动出现的位置,明显加强了振动响应。     

Impact of thicker cladding on the nuclear parameters of the NPP Krško fuel

To make fuel rods more resistant to grid-to-rod fretting or other cladding penetration failures, the cladding thickness could be increased or strengthened. Implementation of thicker fuel rod cladding was evaluated for the NPP Krško that uses 16 × 16 fuel design. Cladding thickness of the Westinghouse standard fuel design (STD) and optimized fuel design (OFA) is increased. The reactivity effect during the fuel burnup is determined. To obtain a complete realistic view of the fuel behaviour a typical, near equilibrium, 18-month fuel cycle is investigated. The most important nuclear core parameters such as critical boron concentrations, isothermal temperature coefficient and rod worth are determined and compared.     

Mechanical analysis of fuel fretting problem

Fuel fretting is studied by contact mechanics approach. Shear force produced by flow-induced vibration is regarded as the major factor of the fuel fretting. Contact dimension is examined for the Korean PWR Fuel Assembly using finite element method. Axial direction is incorporated with transverse one for the shear force. As for the sequence of the shear, a closed rectangular as well as an oblique path are considered to simulate the actual behaviour due to the vibration. The shear stresses on the contact surface between fuel rod and spacer grid is evaluated numerically. It is supposed that a partial slip regime prevails on the contact at the early stage of fuel life. In case of gross slip, the present method can be applied without modification. The dissipation of friction energy on the contact is evaluated and discussed for a wear model and a spacer grid design.     

燃料组件典型栅元湍流激振数值研究

为掌握全长范围内的燃料棒振动响应特性,以用于燃料棒微动磨损寿命分析,本研究运用计算流体动力学（CFD）方法,对燃料组件典型栅元的湍流激振进行数值模拟分析,并通过棒表面的瞬态脉动压力分布开展不同夹持力下的单棒瞬态动力学分析。研究表明:格架上游的截面平均湍动能约为0.1 m2/s2,格架临近出口位置湍动能达到峰值的0.65 m2/s2,格架的存在显著增强了流场的湍流强度,这是造成燃料棒湍流激振的主要原因;通过瞬态动力学分析确定了均方根振幅最大的定位格架位置,并建立了该格架的均方根振幅和振动速度随夹持力变化的关联式。本研究将为后续微动磨损理论计算及实验验证奠定基础。      

Fuel rod-to-support contact pressure and stress measurement for CHASNUPP-1(PWR) fuel

This analysis has been made in an attempt to measure the contact pressure of the PWR fuel assembly spacer grid spring and to verify its structural integrity at room temperature in air. A detailed finite element (FE) model of spacer grid cell with fuel rod-to-support has been developed to determine the contact pressure between the supports of the grid and fuel rod cladding. The FE model of a fuel rod-to-support system is produced with shell and contact elements. The spring hold-down force is calculated using the contact pressure obtained from the FE model. Experiment has also been conducted in the same environment for the measurement of this force. The spring hold-down force values obtained from both studies are compared, which show good agreement, and in turn confirm the validation of this analysis.The Stress obtained through this analysis is less than the yield strength of spacer grid material (Inconel-718), thus fulfils the structural integrity criteria of grid.     

FOCUS-type fuel assembly for PWRs

In recent years the development efforts for Siemens PWR fuel assemblies were mainly concentrated on reducing the fuel cycle costs and increasing the operational reliability of the fuel assemblies.The first objective was aimed at increasing the average discharge burnup to > 50 MWd/kgU and increasing the critical heat flux. The high envisaged burnup required to develop a corrosion resistant cladding tube outside the Zry-4 range. The decision was made to use a Duplex cladding tube consisting of a corrosion optimized outer layer on a Zry-4 base material. A ZrSnFeCr alloy with reduced tin content was chosen for the outer layer. The critical heat flux could be increased by introducing mixing vanes on the spacer grids within the active length.To reach the second objective, reliable avoidance of spacer grid damage during core loading and unloading and reduction of fuel rod defects by debris fretting, the spacer grid corners were improved and a debris separation grid was developed.These design improvements were introduced into the new FOCUS-type fuel assembly. The name FOCUS stands for “Fuel assembly with Optimized Cladding and Upgraded Structure”.     

冷却剂与含格架燃料棒束多场耦合分析

燃料棒束作为压水堆燃料组件的组成部分,其热工和结构特性直接关系到反应堆的安全。本文利用ANSYS WORKBENCH软件分析了冷却剂在5×5含定位格架燃料棒束通道内流动的分布,采用冷却剂与燃料棒束多场耦合的方式研究了燃料棒束的流动传热特性和结构形变特性。结果表明：定位格架扰动冷却剂形成横向二次流并在下游棒束间形成绕流;多场耦合条件下二次流峰值速度和平均速度均小于单流场的;二次流与燃料棒的热应力使棒束发生形变,功率和流动分布的不均匀导致形变在轴向和径向的不均匀;相较于无格架情况,定位格架的存在使冷却剂的搅混流动更加明显,冷却剂对燃料棒冲击增大;在有、无定位格架两种情况下棒束形变均很小,可保持原本结构的稳定。     

Flow Characteristics in Spacer Grids Measured by Rod-embedded Fiber Laser Doppler Velocimetry

Precise measurement of velocity in fuel bundles is required to improve the thermal-hydraulic properties of Pressurerized Water Reactor (PWR) spacer grids. To better understand the cross-flow characteristics in rod bundles for developing spacer grids, we used the rod-embedded fiber laser Doppler velocimetry (rod LDV) to measure the flow velocities inside the spacer grid flow channels. As the result of measurement, we found that the flow distribution inside the spacer grid depends on the local flow resistance of the grid straps and is clearly affected by the presence of a mixing vane. We also clarified the relationship between cross-flow velocity in the fuel bundle downstream of the spacer grid and the axial flow inside the spacer grid.     

On the geometry of the fuel rod supports concerning a fretting wear failure

Geometrical conditions of spacer grid springs and dimples of a light water reactor fuel assembly are studied in this paper concerning a fuel rod’s fretting wear failure. In this framework, the springs/dimples are categorized from the aspects of their orientation with respect to the fuel axis and the contact types. Possible motions on the contacts between the springs/dimples and fuel rods are estimated by conducting a flow-induced vibration test. Features of the wear scar and depth are investigated by independent fretting wear tests carried out with spring and dimple specimens of typical contact geometries. It is also attempted here to apply the contact mechanics theory to a fuel fretting wear analysis such as the prediction of a wear depth profile and its rate, which is influenced by the contact shape of the springs/dimples. It is shown that the theory can be applied to a dimensional control of a coining for the springs/dimples, which is usually carried out in a thin plate fabrication. From the results, the necessary conditions for a spring/dimple geometry for restraining a fretting wear failure are discussed.     

Mechanical Performance of Newly Developed Supporting Structure of Spacer Grid

The fuel rod supporting structure of spacer grid is of great importance to ensure the fuel rod at the appropriate horizontal and axial position. On the purpose of improving the neutronic economy and simplifying the manufacturing and assembling process of spacer grid, the innovative curved dimple and vaulted spring with small dimple on it were designed, which were directly punched from the zirconium strap of spacer grid. The mechanical experiments were performed to acquire the deformation-load curves of dimples and springs of single strap and in-grid cells, which could provide the load and residual deformation at 100% and 120% nominal designed deformations. The result demonstrates that the designed supporting structure has a relative stable load at the 100% nominal designed deformation, and the test method of the single strap is representative for the similar deformation-load curve between the spring and the in-grid cell.     

新型定位格架夹持结构的力学特性研究

定位格架夹持结构是保证燃料棒横向与轴向定位的关键。为进一步提高燃料组件中子经济性、简化定位格架生产流程,本文设计了一种可直接从格架条带上冲制而成的拱形且带小刚性凸起的弹簧结构,与刚凸组成新型定位格架夹持系统。针对设计的夹持结构,进行了单条带弹簧、单条带刚凸及格架栅元夹持结构的力学性能试验,获得了弹簧、刚凸、栅元内夹持结构的进程形变量-载荷曲线和回程形变量-载荷曲线,并分析了各结构在100%与120%名义形变量下的载荷、永久形变量等力学性能数据。结果表明：新型全锆夹持结构在名义形变量附近具有较好的力学稳定性;格架栅元夹持结构与单条带弹簧试验所得力学性能相近,表明单条带试验具有较高的代表性和可靠性。     

棒束通道内定位格架搅混特性PIV可视化研究

定位格架作为燃料组件中重要的组成部件之一,不仅在结构上固定燃料棒,而且在燃料组件内热工水力性能同样显著,特别是对工质的搅混性能直接关系到反应堆的经济性和安全性,因此有必要对燃料组件内定位格架搅混特性进行研究。本文通过粒子图像测速（PIV）技术开展了棒束通道内定位格架上下游流场的可视化研究,对比了有无格架棒束通道内流场的分布特征,定量分析了定位格架对棒束通道流场搅混的贡献。对不同流速下定位格架下游横纵速度的沿程变化特性进行研究,发现了不同流速作用下定位格架对横向、轴向速度的促进和抑制规律。另外,通过速度均方根对下游的湍流特性进行了评估。实验结果可为数值计算提供全场的数据验证,并可为定位格架设计和优化提供基础。     

计算流体动力学在燃料组件热工水力性能分析和格架研制中的应用

国外使用商用计算流体动力学(CFD)软件分析燃料组件中流体的三维流场和温度场,并将验证的方法用于燃料组件格架设计,获得了成功。中国核动力研究设计院空泡物理和自然循环重点实验室用CFX程序对带格架棒束内流场进行了计算,解决了小尺寸复杂结构几何体的模拟,边界条件的选取和CFX计算能力的评价,然后完成了单相,空气一水两相流场和流动特性的计算分析及试验对比验证。已完成的研究表明,尽管CFX程序目前在计算两相流动和传热方面还存在不足,但通过比较单相流场的湍流,旋涡和棒束附近流体温度分布基本可以评价格架对流体的交混性能;格架上的弹簧和刚突对于流动有相当的作用,对其进行模拟是必要的。研究还建议在使用CFD方法进行燃料组件格架热工水力分析前要先进行基准练习以保证分析结果的正确性。     

激光测振技术的可靠性试验研究

燃料组件在冷却剂高速冲刷下会产生流致振动,可能导致格架条带和燃料棒包壳的结构破坏,影响核电厂‘的安全性和经济性。激光可以穿透可视化试验段和冷却剂,打到格架条带表面,通过非接触方式测量其振动响应。非接触式激光测振技术在国内燃料研发过程中也具有重大应用价值与广泛的应用前景,试验中使用非接触式激光测振仪和传统的接触式单轴加速度计,测量了1000HZ、2000Hz和3000Hz三种不同激振频率下模拟燃料棒在空气环境、有机玻璃空气环境和有机玻璃水环境三种工况下的轴向与横向振动响应,验证了激光测振技术的可靠性。数据分析表明,激光测振技术相比加速度计具有更好的测量精度。