PCI analysis of a commercial PWR using BISON fuel performance code

Through the early 2000's, cladding failure by Pellet-Cladding Interaction (PCI) processes in commercial PWR fuel has been managed successfully using power ramp restrictions. However, more demanding fuel duty requirements in modern reactor operating strategies combined with missing pellet surface (MPS) defects have resulted in a small number of fuel rod failures in the last decade. In response to these events, efforts are underway in fuel behavior modeling and simulation to improve our understanding of the conditions that may lead to cladding failure with MPS defects. This paper will evaluate a methodology, using the BISON fuel performance code (formally Peregrine), to model PCI related failures in the ramp test experiments using 2- D and 3-D geometric representation. Following the methodology assessment, BISON will be used to evaluate the behavior of commercial failed and non-failed PWR fuel rods containing a MPS defect and assessing the root cause for cladding failure. The BISON fuel performance code is built on the MOOSE/BISON computational fuel modeling framework developed by Idaho National Laboratory, and is specialized for mechanistic modeling of PWR fuel during power maneuvering events.