BISON: A Flexible Code for Advanced Simulation of the Performance of Multiple Nuclear Fuel Forms

Williamson, Richard L.; Hales, Jason D.; Novascone, Stephen; Pastore, Giovanni; Gamble, Kyle; Spencer, Benjamin W.; Jiang, Wen; Pitts, Stephanie; Casagranda, Albert; Schwen, Daniel; Zabriskie, Adam; Toptan, Aysenur; Gardner, Russell; Matthews, C.; Liu, Wenfeng; Chen, Hailong

doi:10.1080/00295450.2020.1836940

Cited by 138 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 129 publications

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“…The foundational capabilities to solve these mechanical equilibrium and heat equations are provided by the MOOSE tensor_mechanics and heat_conduction modules, respectively. These modules were originally developed to meet the needs of the BISON nuclear fuel performance code, 19 which also relies on the solution of thermal and mechanical equations. Having these models implemented in the MOOSE modules allows Grizzly to heavily leverage the work done on these modules for BISON.…”

Section: Iic Thermomechanical Solution Infrastructurementioning

confidence: 99%

Grizzly and BlackBear: Structural Component Aging Simulation Codes

et al. 2021

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The operating environment of nuclear reactors imposes extreme challenges on the materials from which the structures within and surrounding the reactor are constructed. Understanding the effects of exposure to this environment is critical for ensuring the safe long-term operation of these reactors. The Grizzly and BlackBear codes are being developed to model the progression of aging mechanisms and their effects on the integrity of critical structures. These codes take advantage of the capabilities of the MOOSE framework to solve the wide range of coupled physics problems that are encountered in predictive simulation of structural degradation. This paper provides an overview of these codes, with a specific focus on two capabilities relevant for light water reactor applications: reactor pressure vessel embrittlement and concrete degradation.

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Section: Iic Thermomechanical Solution Infrastructurementioning

confidence: 99%

Grizzly and BlackBear: Structural Component Aging Simulation Codes

et al. 2021

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“…During a LOCA transient, temperatures in the fuel rod increase rapidly, leading to increased pressure in the gas contained within the bubbles. The temperature as a function of time at the edge of a representative pellet for each rod was obtained by using the engineering-scale fuel performance code BISON [61] simulation of the Studsvik Rod 196 experiment [62]. The temperature was used as an input to the KKS phase-field model [9] to determine the pressure as a function of time.…”

Section: Loca Pressure Transientsmentioning

confidence: 99%

BISON microstructure-based pulverization criterion in high burnup structure

Aagesen

Biswas

Jiang

et al. 2021

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To improve the economics of commercial nuclear power production, utilities are seeking to increase the allowable burnup limit of UO 2 fuel. One of the main factors that contributes to the current burnup limit of 62 GWd/MTU in commercial light-water reactors (LWRs) is the risk of fine fragmentation or pulverization during a loss of coolant accident (LOCA). Pulverization primarily occurs at high burnups, especially when the high-burnup structure (HBS) has formed. To allow the industry to pursue increased burnup and develop mitigation strategies, it is essential to have improved capability to predict the onset of pulverization. However, the mechanism of pulverization is not well understood, and the existing predictive capabilities implemented in the BISON fuel performance code are empirical in nature.In this report, mesoscale simulations are used to improve understanding of the formation mechanism of the HBS and how it responds during a LOCA transient, and inform development of a BISON pulverization criterion. A phase-field model was used to simulate the evolution of bubble pressure as a result of HBS formation. The simulations showed that gas atoms diffuse from grain interiors to the new grain boundaries created during HBS formation and diffuse rapidly along these grain boundaries to reach existing bubbles. This causes an increase in bubble pressure in existing bubbles, leading to bubble growth during steady-state operation. To simulate the response of HBS bubbles to a LOCA transient, a newly developed phase-field model was used; in agreement with preliminary results from Fiscal Year 2020, bubble size did not change significantly during the duration of the transient. A phase-field fracture model was used to study fragmentation patterns in the HBS. Phase-field fracture simulations were used to determine a pulverization criterion for BISON. A function for the critical pressure for pulverization to occur was fit to data from the phase-field fracture simulations, and this function was implemented as a material property in BISON. For comparison, an analytical criterion for pulverization was developed and implemented within the same material property.

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“…• BISON: Built on top of MOOSE, which solves partial differential equations important to fuel performance via finite element (energy conservation, stress divergence, and species migration), BISON adds specific fuel behavior and material models designed to represent the INL/EXT-21-63162 response of fuel and cladding/structural layers in a variety of reactor types. The code has been applied to UO2, TRISO, metallic, UN/UC, and U3Si2 fuel performance prediction [8].…”

Section: Modeling and Simulation Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%