FARST — A computer code for the evaluation of FBR fuel rod behavior under steady-state/transient conditions

FARST, a computer code for the evaluation of fuel rod thermal and mechanical behavior under steady-state/transient conditions has been developed. The code characteristics are summarized as follows:

1. (i) FARST evaluates the fuel rod behavior under the transient conditions. The code analyzes thermal and mechanical phenomena within a fuel rod, taking into account the temperature change in coolant surrounding the fuel rod.

2. (ii) Permanent strains such as plastic, creep and swelling strains as well as thermoelastic deformations can be analyzed by using the strain increment method.

3. (iii) Axial force and contact pressure which act on the fuel stack and cladding are analyzed based on the stick/slip conditions.

4. (iv) FARST used a pellet swelling model which depends on the contact pressure between pellet and cladding, and an empirical pellet relocation model, designated as “jump relocation model”.

The code was successfully applied to analyses of the fuel rod irradiation data from pulse reactor for nuclear safety research in Cadarache (CABRI) and pulse reactor for nuclear safety research in Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (NSRR).The code was further applied to stress analysis of a 1000 MW class large FBR plant fuel rod during transient conditions. The steady-state model which was used so far gave the conservative results for cladding stress during overpower transient, but underestimated the results for cladding stress during a rapid temperature decrease of coolant.     

Stress corrosion cracking of Zircaloy-4 cladding at elevated temperatures and its relevance to transient LWR fuel rod behaviour

In extensive out-of-pile experiments from 500 to 900° C it has been shown that, of all the volatile fission products in a LWR fuel rod, only iodine can cause low ductility failure of Zircaloy-4 tubing due to stress corrosion cracking up to about 800° C. The critical iodine concentration above which brittle cladding failure occurs was determined as a function of temperature in the absence and presence of UO₂ fuel. A comparison of these values with the amount expected in the fuel cladding gap during a LOCA transient shows that a clear influence of iodine on burst strain can be expected only up to 700° C. This is in agreement with the results of in-pile LOCA tests performed in the FR-2 reactor with high burnup fuel rods. Since the burst temperatures during a LOCA transient would generally be above 700° C, an influence of iodine on burst strain is not very probable in a LOCA. However, with respect to ATWS transients where the maximum cladding temperatures would be below 700° C, an influence of iodine on the mechanical properties of zircaloy can be expected.     

Effects of Rod Pre-Pressurization on Light Water Reactor Fuel Behavior during Reactivity Initiated Accident Conditions

Previously pressurized (pre-pressurized) fuel rod tests recently performed in the Nuclear Safety Research Reactor (NSRR) investigate the effects of initial internal pressure on fuel rod behavior during reactivity initiated accident (RIA) conditions. A single PWR type fuel rod was contained within a waterfilled, ambient temperature and ambient pressure capsule. The fuel rod was then heated by the pulsing operation of the NSRR.

Results from the tests show that the effect of pre-pressurization was significant for the fuel rods with initial internal pressure of 0.8 MPa and above, and fuel rod failure occurred from rupture of the cladding with lower threshold energy deposition for failure as the initial internal pressure was increased. The cladding rupture was governed mainly by the cladding temperature rise, not by the rod internal pressure rise during the transient. The relationships between cladding burst pressure and cladding burst temperature and between cladding strain and cladding temperature at cladding rupture obtained in the present study under an RIA condition agree with the results obtained from various in- and ex-reactor experiments under a LOCA condition, although the obtained time-averaged strain rate of the Zircaloy cladding was much greater than that in a LOCA condition.     

Stress corrosion fracture of zircaloy cladding in fuel rods subjected to power increases: A model for crack propagation and the failure threshold stress

A crack may form and propagate by a stress corrosion mechanism, in the zircaloy cladding of a water cooled fuel rod, if it is subjected to a sufficiently severe power increase (ramp), the likely responsible chemical species being iodine produced by fissioning of the fuel. By formulating and analysing a model, and relating the theoretical predictions to observations on the size of plastic zones associated with a propagating crack, valuable information is obtained concerning the micro-mechanics of stress corrosion fracture in zircaloy; this information is then used as input for a theoretical analysis of crack formation. A model describing the crack formation process is developed and it is shown that the threshold stress can be low in relation to the yield stress of Irradiated zircaloy, a prediction that accords with some recent experimental observations. Implications of the results with respect to both fuel failure predictions and possible cladding improvements by means of texture changes are discussed.     

基于MOOSE框架的五方程两相流分析程序开发

基于多物理场耦合框架MOOSE,采用五方程两相流模型开发了模块化程序ZEBRA,实现了高阶时间、空间离散格式两相流动传热问题的求解。采用Bartolomei开展的垂直圆管过冷沸腾实验对ZEBRA进行验证,在不同热流密度、质量流密度、压力工况下,将程序计算值与实验值进行了数值验证和计算分析。结果表明：ZEBRA中五方程模型预测值与实验值符合良好,沸腾起始点和空泡份额的预测合理,表明ZEBRA初步具备了处理两相流问题的能力。     

Principle of rationalizing the criteria for abnormal transients of the Super LWR with fuel rod analyses

A detailed fuel rod design is carried out for the first time in the development of Supercritical-pressure Light Water Reactor (Super LWR). The fuel rod design is similar to that of LWR, consisting of UO₂ pellets, a gas plenum and a Stainless Steel Cladding. The principle of rationalizing the criteria for abnormal transients of the Super LWR is developed. The fuel rod integrities can be assured by preventing plastic strains on the cladding, preventing the cladding buckling collapse, and keeping the pellet centerline temperature below its melting point. The FEMAXI-6 fuel analysis code is used to evaluate the fuel rod integrities in abnormal transient conditions. Detailed analyses have shown that allowable limits to the maximum fuel rod power and maximum cladding temperature can be determined to assure the fuel integrities. These limits may be useful in the plant safety analyses to confirm the fuel integrities during abnormal transients.     

Modeling of Jet Pump by RELAP4 Code in Loss-of-Coolant Accident Analysis

Waterlogged fuel rod experiments performed at the NSRR are analyzed using the computer code WTRLGD, which was devised for the analyses of thermo-dynamical behavior of a waterlogged fuel rod. The numerical results are compared with the data from the experiments in order to assess the validity of the computer code. Parameters in the analyses are volumetric fraction of water, reactor period, gap width, a pin hole and the end peaks. Thus the analyses cover almost all the waterlogged fuel rod experiments at the NSRR.

The comparison shows good agreement between the experimental results and numerical ones on the transient thermo-dynamical behaviors of fuel, such as, rod internal pressure, cladding surface temperature and cladding strain. The numerical results also quantitatively agree with the experimental data concerning the effects of the above parameters on failure threshold energy. From the above findings, the computer code is assessed to be valid enough for the analyses of the failure behavior of the waterlogged fuel rod under a reactivity initiated accident condition.     

船用堆燃料棒包壳疲劳寿命分析

船用堆瞬态变工况下燃料棒包壳温度和冷却剂压力波动较大,引起包壳的疲劳损伤,因此包壳疲劳寿命分析至关重要。本文利用ANSYS软件模拟船用堆瞬态变工况下燃料棒的热机械行为,结合锆包壳疲劳寿命设计曲线,考察包壳温度、冷却剂压力、燃料棒内压以及辐照对船用堆燃料棒包壳疲劳寿命的影响。计算结果表明,瞬态变工况使得包壳疲劳寿命有很大降低;包壳温度变化与冷却剂压力变化相比,前者对包壳疲劳寿命的影响小;辐照会降低包壳疲劳寿命。在不影响核动力船舶机动性的前提下,可采取一些必要的措施来降低包壳的疲劳损伤。     

Molten fuel radial motion and cladding melting during a PCM event in LWRs

The thermal behavior of the fuel and cladding during off-normal operating conditions, generally termed power-cooling-mismatch (PCM), are of great interest to light water reactor (LWR) safety analysis. During a power-cooling-mismatch event, fuel melting may begin at the center of the rods propagating radially outward. The induced pressure at the center of the rod due to fuel melting, fission gas release, and UO₂ fuel vapor would tend to force such molten fuel to flow through radially open cracks in the outer unmelted portion of the pellet and relocate in the fuel-cladding gap. The zircaloy cladding, which is at high temperature during film boiling, may undergo melting at its inside surface upon being contacted by the extruded molten fuel, eventually resulting in a thermal failure of the cladding.Three topics of interest are analyzed in this paper. First, fuel conditions during a hypothesized PCM accident are assessed with regard to pellet cracking and central fuel melting. Secondly, the transient freezing of a superheated liquid penetrating an initially empty crack, maintained at constant subfreezing temperatures, is studied analytically. The analysis is presented in a dimensionless form, illustrating the effect of the governing parameters, namely the driving pressure, crack shape (that is, a divergent, a parallel wall, or a convergent crack), density ratio, Stefan number for freezing, and steady state crust thickness. The calculational results are used to assess the radial extrusion of molten UO₂ fuel observed in some in-pile tests, in which PCM conditions in a pressurized water reactor were simulated. Thirdly, conditions for potential melting of zircaloy cladding upon being contacted by the extruded molten fuel are investigated analytically. The analytical predictions were consistent with the experimental results from PCM in-pile tests.     

Thermal Stress Analysis of High-Burnup LWR Fuel Pellet Pulse-Irradiated in Reactivity-Initiated Accident Conditions

For RIA-simulated experiments in the NSRR with high-burnup PWR fuel and BWR fuel, numerical analyses were performed to evaluate the temporal changes of profiles of temperature and thermal stress in pellet induced by pulse power, using the RANNS code. The pre-pulse states of rods were calculated using the fuel performance code FEMAXI-6 along the irradiation histories in commercial reactors and the results were fed to the RANNS analysis as initial conditions of the rod. One-dimensional FEM was applied to the mechanical analysis of the fuel rod, and the calculated cladding permanent strain was compared with the measured value to confirm the validity of the PCMI calculation. The calculated changes in the profiles of temperature and stress in the pellet during an early transient phase were compared with the measured data such as the internal gas pressure rise, cracks and grain structure in the post-test pellet, anddiscussed in terms of PCMI and grain separation. The analyses indicate that the pellet cracking appearances coincided with the calculated tensile stress state and that the compressive thermal stress suppresses the fission gas bubble expansion leading to grain separation.     

Post-facta analysis of the TMI accident (II): Analysis of fuel rod behavior and core damage estimation by use of TOODEE2-J

By use of the TOODEE2-J computer program, an analysis was carried out of the fuel rod behavior, and core damage was estimated for the TMI-2 reactor during the first three hours of the accident on March 28, 1979. The boundary conditions (e.g. core mixture level, steam flow rate and core inlet flow) are based on a thermal-hydraulic analysis by the RELAP4/MOD6/U4/J2 computer program. The calculated results suggest that bursting of almost all rods except peripheral low-powered rods occurred, and that a large part of the zircaloy cladding exceeded the eutectic temperature to form a liquid phase of Zr---U---O. A total of 43.5% of the zircaloy in the fueled part of the core had been converted to zirconium-dioxide by three hours into the accidient, and major damage to the fuel rods had also occured by then.     

Modification of thermal hydraulic code,THEATRe, with fuel rod behavior models and its application to reactivity-initiated accident (RIA)

During reactor operation, many complex changes occur in fuel rod which affects its thermal, mechanical and material properties. These changes also affect the reactor response to the transient and accident situations. Realistic simulation of fuel rod behavior under transients such as reactivity-initiated accident (RIA) is of great significance. In this study, thermal hydraulic analysis code THEATRe (Thermal Hydraulic Engineering Analysis Tool in Real-time) has been modified by addition of fuel rod behavior models for dynamic simulation of nuclear reactor. Transient changes in gas-gap parameters were taken into account by modeling the gas-gap behavior. Thermo-mechanical behavior of fuel rod is modeled to take into account the thermal, elastic and plastic deformation. To simulate RIA, point reactor kinetics model is also incorporated in the THEATRe code. To demonstrate the transient fuel rod behavior, AP1000 reactor is modeled and three hypothetical RIA cases are simulated. The RIA is considered at three different reactor power levels, i.e. 100, 50 and 1% of nominal power. The investigated parameters are fuel temperature, cladding stress and strain, fuel and cladding thermal conductivity and heat transfer coefficient in gas-gap. Modified code calculates the fuel rod temperatures according to updated fuel, clad and gas-gap parameters at the onset of steady-state operation and during the transient. The modified code provides lower steady-state fuel temperature as compared to the original code. Stress and strain analyses indicate that the hoop and radial strain is higher at high power locations of the fuel rod; therefore, gap closure process will initially occur in the central portion of the fuel rod and it should be given more emphasis in the safety analysis of the fuel rod and nuclear reactor during accidents and transients.     

Analysis of the degradation of a PWR control rod during a loss of coolant accident, using the ICARE2 code

Conditions leading to AIC control rod damage during a loss of coolant accident in a PWR geometry, even in absence of violation of the LOCA licensing criteria, are investigated using several versions of the ICARE2 code (IPSN). Before being applied to the reactor case, the code and the modelling procedure are validated against the out-of-pile severe fuel damage experiment CORA-5. Three particular initial configurations are considered for the subsequent control rod damage analysis: nominal control rod and guide tube geometry, zircaloy guide tube bowing with concurrent cladding thickness reduction and finally control rod cladding perforation. For each of these cases the thermal, mechanical and chemical behaviour is presented. Phenomena such as ballooning and cladding failure of fuel rods, guide tube failure, melt relocation and final fluid channel cross-section modification are described. Finally, the conclusions of numerous sensitivity studies are discussed and some suggestions are given for possible improvements of the ICARE2 code.     

燃料棒破损热力学模块开发及在严重事故分析程序中的应用

包壳肿胀和破损是严重事故早期阶段的重要现象。包壳形变不仅会造成局部流动堵塞,同时,水蒸气会从破裂处进入包壳气隙,增加包壳被蒸汽氧化的表面积。广泛使用的一体化严重事故分析程序不能分析早期事故过程中燃料棒的热力学行为,判断包壳破裂也只是基于简单的参数模型。本文开发了分析燃料棒热力学行为的FRTMB模块,并集成在严重事故分析程序ISAA中。使用开发的耦合系统ISAA FRTMB分析了CAP1400反应堆直接注射（DVI）管线小破口事故过程中燃料棒的热力学行为,并预计了包壳破裂时间及相应的失效温度。计算结果整体验证了ISAA FRTMB分析瞬态事故过程中燃料棒热力学行为以及判断包壳破裂的适用性和可靠性。     

基于流固热耦合的燃料元件包壳结构完整性分析

反应堆系统发生瞬态工况时,冷却剂温度的瞬间大幅度变化会对燃料元件包壳结构完整性造成冲击,危及反应堆安全。本文以某压水堆3×3燃料组件为对象,采用流固热耦合方法对冷水事故下燃料组件的流动换热特性和燃料元件包壳温度、变形及应力进行了三维精细化模拟。结果表明:定位格架能够增强燃料棒表面的对流换热强度;包壳变形时向与刚凸接触的一侧折弯,向与弹簧接触的一侧凸起;包壳与定位格架接触部位的温度和最大等效应力随事故时间不断增大,且最大等效应力超过了包壳材料的屈服强度,将发生强度失效,影响其结构完整性。本文研究可为反应堆燃料元件包壳瞬态工况下的完整性评价提供借鉴。      

Adaptive fuzzy system for fuel rod cladding failure in nuclear power plant

A new approach to the study of ballooning that causes cladding failure in fuel rods using an adaptive neural fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is presented in this paper. By mapping input/output patterns describing cladding failure phenomena through average inner cladding temperature and fuel rod gas pressure, ANFIS shows a great potential to modeling this problem in alternative to the traditional approach. A typical pressurized water reactor fuel rod data was used to this application. The results confirm the potential of ANFIS comparatively to experimental calculations.     

Self-Limiting Power Excursion Characteristics of Light Water Reactor, (IV)

A strain gage was used for the measurement, of fuel cladding strain generated during pulse operation tests on the Hitachi Training Reactor. In the analysis of the measured strain, two kinds of correction were called for: (1) the fadiation effect on the strain gage and lead wires, and (2) the temperature effect due to the lag of the gage filament temperature behind the true fuel cladding temperature. The experimental axial strain after the two corrections were applied was 781 × 10^?6 cm/cm for the hottest fuel rod in the pulse operation test with an inserted reactivity of 1.20%δk/k. This maximum strain corresponded to 2,169 kg/cm² of thermal stress and 111 cal/cm²·sec of heat flux. These results were obtained under the condition of maximum temperature in the fuel center of 1,200°C and a fuel cladding temperature of 140°C. When the axial strain was calculated with consideration given to the gap or contact conductance between the fuel and its cladding, a reasonable agreement was obtained between the calculation and the experimental results.     

发生落棒事故时的PCI研究

当反应堆发生落棒事故时,燃料芯块与包壳的相互作用瞬间增强,易造成燃料棒破损,从而影响核电站的正常运行.本文介绍了反应堆Ⅱ类瞬态下燃料棒芯块与包壳相互作用的机理和定量分析方法,并针对大亚湾核电站18个月换料的燃料管理方案进行了发生落棒事故时的PCI热力学评价.初步的研究结果表明:如果在自然循环长度和延伸燃耗运行期内发生落棒事故,对于基负荷运行和基负荷一次调频运行,均有PCI的应力裕量,不会造成燃料棒破损.     

高燃耗下UN-FeCrAl燃料元件稳态及瞬态热力学性能分析

UN-FeCrAl燃料元件作为耐事故燃料高燃耗应用的主要方案之一,需要评价其在高燃耗下的热力学性能。本研究基于FUPAC软件对UN-FeCrAl燃料元件在燃耗68000 MW·d·t^-1(U)下的稳态和瞬态热力学性能进行了预测。分析结果表明,稳态工况下UN-FeCrAl燃料元件热力学性能表现良好;瞬态下UN燃料的芯块中心温度最高仅为862℃,可满足芯块温度设计要求,但FeCrAl包壳的瞬态应力最大将达到459 MPa,且瞬态应变量相比于稳态应变量最大增加了0.23%,这可能会使FeCrAl包壳面临瞬态应力和瞬态应变准则超限的风险。因此后续研究应重点关注FeCrAl包壳的瞬态应力和瞬态应变性能。     

Oxide thickness-dependent transient cladding hoop stress

A few thrice-burned Zry-4 fuel assemblies which were loaded in one of the PWRs operating in Korea were found to be failed due to PCI during a power ramp following a rector trip, while thrice-burned Zr–Nb fuel assemblies and twice-burned Zry-4 ones were intact. To investigate the effect of fuel rod oxide thickness on power ramp-induced cladding hoop stress, three intact fuel rods were selected, which include an intact twice-burned Zry-4 fuel rod, an intact thrice-burned Zr-4 fuel rod and an intact thrice-burned Zr–Nb fuel rod. With the use of a fuel performance analysis code, burnup-dependent steady-state cladding stress and ramp power-dependent cladding stresses at the power-ramped burnup were predicted for the three intact fuel rods. It was found that the cladding oxide thickness has a considerable effect on the ramp power-dependent cladding hoop stresses. In addition, the cladding maximum stress of the thrice-burned Zry-4 fuel rod with 125 μm oxide thickness exceeded an ultimate cladding tensile strength of the Zry-4 cladding when the pellet–clad friction coefficient-dependent cladding stress concentration ratio was considered. However, the thrice-burned Zr–Nb fuel rod with 50 μm oxide thickness was evaluated to have a considerable margin against the power ramp-induced PCI failure.