Multiphysics analysis of fuel fragmentation, relocation, and dispersal susceptibility–Part 3: Thermal hydraulic evaluation of large break LOCA under high-burnup conditions

Aaron Wysocki; Jake Hirschhorn; Ian Greenquist; Nathan Capps

doi:10.1016/j.anucene.2023.109951

Multiphysics analysis of fuel fragmentation, relocation, and dispersal susceptibility–Part 3: Thermal hydraulic evaluation of large break LOCA under high-burnup conditions

Aaron Wysocki, Jake Hirschhorn, Ian Greenquist, Nathan Capps

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Increasing the peak rod average burnup of pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel beyond 62 GWd/tU may increase fuel fragmentation, relocation, and dispersal (FFRD) susceptibility during a large break loss of coolant accident (LBLOCA). TRACE thermal hydraulic (TH) LBLOCA analyses were performed for a realistic 24-month high-burnup PWR equilibrium cycle, to inform subsequent transient BISON high-burnup FFRD susceptibility evaluations. Realistic LBLOCA systems behavior was first established by configuring to and comparing with the BEMUSE OECD LBLOCA benchmark. Fuel and operating conditions were then applied from high-burnup VERA depletion calculations. LBLOCA simulations were performed for 281 selected high-burnup rods, for which transient TH boundary conditions were collected for later use in BISON. The TRACE results indicated that rod linear heat rate (rather than burnup) is the main predictor of peak cladding temperature (PCT) during the event. PCT typically occurred at a local burnup lower than the rod-average burnup, especially for twice-burned fuel.

Original language	English
Article number	109951
Journal	Annals of Nuclear Energy
Volume	192
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2023.109951
State	Published - Nov 2023

Funding

This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( https://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan ). This work was supported by the Advanced Fuels Campaign (AFC) of the US Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy. The Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) Program of the US Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy supported the analysis herein. This research made use of the High-Performance Computing Center at INL, which is supported by the Office of Nuclear Energy of the US Department of Energy and the Nuclear Science User Facilities under contract No. DE-AC07-05ID14517.

Funders	Funder number
Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Nuclear Energy	DE-AC07-05ID14517
UT-Battelle	DE-AC05-00OR22725

Keywords

FFRD
High-burnup
LOCA
Reactor safety
Thermal hydraulics

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10.1016/j.anucene.2023.109951

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title = "Multiphysics analysis of fuel fragmentation, relocation, and dispersal susceptibility–Part 3: Thermal hydraulic evaluation of large break LOCA under high-burnup conditions",

abstract = "Increasing the peak rod average burnup of pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel beyond 62 GWd/tU may increase fuel fragmentation, relocation, and dispersal (FFRD) susceptibility during a large break loss of coolant accident (LBLOCA). TRACE thermal hydraulic (TH) LBLOCA analyses were performed for a realistic 24-month high-burnup PWR equilibrium cycle, to inform subsequent transient BISON high-burnup FFRD susceptibility evaluations. Realistic LBLOCA systems behavior was first established by configuring to and comparing with the BEMUSE OECD LBLOCA benchmark. Fuel and operating conditions were then applied from high-burnup VERA depletion calculations. LBLOCA simulations were performed for 281 selected high-burnup rods, for which transient TH boundary conditions were collected for later use in BISON. The TRACE results indicated that rod linear heat rate (rather than burnup) is the main predictor of peak cladding temperature (PCT) during the event. PCT typically occurred at a local burnup lower than the rod-average burnup, especially for twice-burned fuel.",

keywords = "FFRD, High-burnup, LOCA, Reactor safety, Thermal hydraulics",

author = "Aaron Wysocki and Jake Hirschhorn and Ian Greenquist and Nathan Capps",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023",

year = "2023",

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doi = "10.1016/j.anucene.2023.109951",

language = "English",

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T1 - Multiphysics analysis of fuel fragmentation, relocation, and dispersal susceptibility–Part 3

T2 - Thermal hydraulic evaluation of large break LOCA under high-burnup conditions

AU - Wysocki, Aaron

AU - Hirschhorn, Jake

AU - Greenquist, Ian

AU - Capps, Nathan

PY - 2023/11

Y1 - 2023/11

N2 - Increasing the peak rod average burnup of pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel beyond 62 GWd/tU may increase fuel fragmentation, relocation, and dispersal (FFRD) susceptibility during a large break loss of coolant accident (LBLOCA). TRACE thermal hydraulic (TH) LBLOCA analyses were performed for a realistic 24-month high-burnup PWR equilibrium cycle, to inform subsequent transient BISON high-burnup FFRD susceptibility evaluations. Realistic LBLOCA systems behavior was first established by configuring to and comparing with the BEMUSE OECD LBLOCA benchmark. Fuel and operating conditions were then applied from high-burnup VERA depletion calculations. LBLOCA simulations were performed for 281 selected high-burnup rods, for which transient TH boundary conditions were collected for later use in BISON. The TRACE results indicated that rod linear heat rate (rather than burnup) is the main predictor of peak cladding temperature (PCT) during the event. PCT typically occurred at a local burnup lower than the rod-average burnup, especially for twice-burned fuel.

AB - Increasing the peak rod average burnup of pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel beyond 62 GWd/tU may increase fuel fragmentation, relocation, and dispersal (FFRD) susceptibility during a large break loss of coolant accident (LBLOCA). TRACE thermal hydraulic (TH) LBLOCA analyses were performed for a realistic 24-month high-burnup PWR equilibrium cycle, to inform subsequent transient BISON high-burnup FFRD susceptibility evaluations. Realistic LBLOCA systems behavior was first established by configuring to and comparing with the BEMUSE OECD LBLOCA benchmark. Fuel and operating conditions were then applied from high-burnup VERA depletion calculations. LBLOCA simulations were performed for 281 selected high-burnup rods, for which transient TH boundary conditions were collected for later use in BISON. The TRACE results indicated that rod linear heat rate (rather than burnup) is the main predictor of peak cladding temperature (PCT) during the event. PCT typically occurred at a local burnup lower than the rod-average burnup, especially for twice-burned fuel.

KW - FFRD

KW - High-burnup

KW - LOCA

KW - Reactor safety

KW - Thermal hydraulics

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M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85163534454

SN - 0306-4549

VL - 192

JO - Annals of Nuclear Energy

JF - Annals of Nuclear Energy

M1 - 109951

ER -

Multiphysics analysis of fuel fragmentation, relocation, and dispersal susceptibility–Part 3: Thermal hydraulic evaluation of large break LOCA under high-burnup conditions

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