Assessment of swelling and constituent redistribution in uranium-zirconium fuel using phenomena identification and ranking tables (PIRT)

Williams, W. J.; Wachs, Daniel M.; Okuniewski, Maria A.; Berghe, S. Van den

doi:10.1016/j.anucene.2019.107016

Cited by 20 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…1. vacancy-driven diffusion of primary constituents facilitating constituent redistribution within the fuel 43,44 2. fission product diffusion facilitating void/precipitate formation and growth 45 3. defect-induced growth contributing to fuel and structural material swelling, including straininduced lattice expansion and the formation of cavitation voids on grain boundaries 11,45 4. defect-induced dynamic phase transformation as observed in highly strained metals 46 5. fission product migration impacting FCCI (Ref. 35)…”

Section: Iiic Defect Mobility and Mechanical Behavior Of The Fuelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The accelerated qualification process proposed here is predicated on irradiation developments at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) that enable a high-throughput approach to irradiation testing that can also reach high-burnup targets at much faster rates than traditional testing. [8][9][10][11][12] The approaches are not entirely novel and have been demonstrated in historical experiments and other isolated efforts. 13,14 The difference now is that the value proposition for performing accelerated…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Integrating Advanced Modeling and Accelerated Testing for a Modernized Fuel Qualification Paradigm

et al. 2021

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With the increasing interest in sodium fast reactor technology, as seen by applications to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the OKLO Aurora plant, fuel testing for the TerraPower Traveling Wave Reactor, and the impending construction and startup of the versatile test reactor (VTR), a modernized, accelerated approach to fuel qualification is needed. To guide this effort, a Phenomena Identification Ranking Table-styled analysis was performed for a U-Pu-Zr sodium-free annular fuel system. This analysis evaluated a series of fuel design properties and parameters against their contributions to key fuel performance phenomena. The resulting priority parameters were then reviewed against existing modeling and experimental capabilities to support investigation of the highest-priority parameters. A pathway for qualification was then established using highthroughput, high-volume experiments from MiniFuel and FAST in parallel with advanced physics-based model development. This effort outlines how the first stages of qualification can be reduced from the typical 20+-year development cycle to 5 to 7 years by deploying accelerated irradiation testing platforms. As with any accelerated test, these methods are prototypic in some aspects and less so in others; however, by coupling with advanced fuel performance modeling and simulation capabilities, the larger space of irradiation parameters and material response provided offers advantages for the validation of physics-based models supporting the deployment of novel fuel designs. As a test case, this paper utilizes a proposed Mark II fuel system for the upcoming VTR. Thus, an accelerated qualification method can be tested for the development of MARK II driver fuel so that by the time of VTR startup, lead test assemblies for a Mark II fuel can be initiated.

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