Modeling of gap conductance for LWR fuel rods applied in the BISON code

Aysenur Toptan, Jason D. Hales, Richard L. Williamson, Stephen R. Novascone, Giovanni Pastore, David J. Kropaczek

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

A new gap conductance model is proposed in this study as a combination of Toptan’s model and the Ross-Stoute model. A variance-based sensitivity analysis is performed to understand how simulation results depend on all input parameters of the proposed model. Additionally, new modeling options (e.g. fill gas thermal conductivity, temperature jump distance, thermal accommodation coefficient, etc.) are added into the nuclear fuel performance code, BISON. The need for further investigation of the gap heat transfer between fuel and cladding in BISON motivated this study to evaluate its impact on the code’s predictions. New gap conductance modeling is proposed. A series of integral-effects validation tests is performed: (1) to demonstrate the impact of the proposed model on the code’s fuel temperature predictions at the beginning of life and through the reactor’s life; (2) to ensure that the proposed model is capable of accurately modeling gap heat transfer characteristics in real-world problems; and (3) to investigate the impact of the estimation of fission gas release on the fuel temperature predictions with the proposed model. The results indicate that the proposed gap conductance model improves BISON’s predictions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)963-974
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Nuclear Science and Technology
Volume57
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2 2020

Keywords

  • BISON
  • LWR
  • fuel performance
  • gap conductance
  • gap heat transfer
  • validation

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