DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

A MICROSTRUCTURAL MODEL OF THE THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY OF DISPERSION TYPE FUELS WITH A FUEL MATRIX INTERACTION LAYER

  • Williams, A.F. (Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Chalk River Laboratories) ;
  • Leitch, B.W. (Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Chalk River Laboratories) ;
  • Wang, N. (Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Chalk River Laboratories)
  • Received : 2013.09.27
  • Published : 2013.12.20

Abstract

This paper describes a finite element model of the microstructure of dispersion type nuclear fuels, which can be used to determine the effective thermal conductivity of the fuels during irradiation. The model simulates a representative region of the fuel as a prism shaped unit cell made of brick elements. The elements within the unit cell are assigned material properties of either the fuel or the matrix depending on position, in such a way as to represent randomly distributed fuel particles with a size distribution similar to that of the as manufactured fuel. By applying an appropriate heat flux across the unit cell it is possible to determine the effective thermal conductivity of the unit cell as a function of the volume fraction of the fuel particles. The presence of a fuel/matrix interaction layer is simulated by the addition of a third set of material properties that are assigned to the finite elements that surround each fuel particle. In this way the effective thermal conductivity of the material may also be determined as a function of the volume fraction of the interaction layer. Work is on going to add fission gas bubbles in the fuel as a fourth phase to the model.

Keywords

References

  1. A.Soba, and A. Denis, "An interdiffusional model for prediction of the interaction layer growth in the system uranium-molybdenum/aluminum", Journal of Nuclear Materials 360 (2007) pp. 231-241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2006.09.014
  2. J.C. Maxwell. "A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism" (3rd Edition ed.), Clarendon Press, Oxford (1904), p. 440.
  3. Y.S. Kim, G.L. Hofman, and J. Rest, "Characterization of Intergranular Fission Gas Bubbles in U-Mo Fuel", Argonne National Laboratory Report ANL-08/11, 2008.
  4. B. Ye, J. Rest, and Y.S. Kim, "A Description of the Mechanistic DART-THERMAL Dispersion Fuel Performance Code and Application to Irradiation Behavior Analysis of U-Mo/Al", Report of Argonne National Laboratory, ANL/GTRI/TM-13/3, 2013.
  5. V. Marelle, F. Huet, and P. Lemoine, "Thermo-mechanical Modelling of U-Mo Fuels with MAIA", 8th International Topical Meeting on Research Reactor Fuel Management, Munich, Germany, 2004 March 21-24.
  6. H.J. Ryu, Y.S. Kim, J.M. Park, H.T. Chae, and C.K. Kim, "Performance Evaluation of U-Mo/Al Dispersion Fuel by Considering a Fuel-Matrix Interaction", Nuclear Engineering and Technology, 40 (5), 2008. https://doi.org/10.5516/NET.2008.40.5.409
  7. Z. Hashin, and S. Shtrikman, "A Variational Approach to the theory of the Effective Magnetic Permeability of Multiphase Materials", Journal of Applied Physics,33, (10), 1962 October.
  8. S. Ding, Y. Huo, and X. Yan, "Modeling of the heat transfer performance of plate-type dispersion nuclear fuel elements", Journal of Nuclear Materials 392, 2009 pp. 498-504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2009.04.015
  9. B. Coulson, "Two and Three dimensional thermal analyses of uranium/molybdenum dispersion fuel microstructures", M.Sc. Thesis, Colorado School of Mines.
  10. J.Rest, Y.S. Kim, G.L. Hofman, M.K. Meyer, and S.L. Hayes, "U-Mo Fuels Handbook" Argonne National Laboratory Report ANL-09/31, 2009.
  11. S.H. Lee, J.C. Kim, J.M. Park, C.K. Kim, and S.W. Kim, "Effect of Heat Treatment on Thermal Conductivity of U-Mo/Al Alloy Dispersion Fuel", International Journal of Thermophysics, 24 (5), 2003.
  12. S. Nazare, G. Ondracek, and F. Thummler, "Investigations on UAlx-Al Dispersion Fuels for High-flux Reactors," Journal of Nuclear Materials, 56, 1975 pp 251-259. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3115(75)90040-9
  13. D.Sears, B. Leitch, G. Edwards, I. Swainson and R. Rogge, "Effect of Burnup and Irradiation Temperature on Crystalline Phase Evolution in U-Mo/Al Dispersion Fuel", RERTR 2009 - 31st International Meeting on Reduced Enrichment for Research Test Reactors, Beijing, China, 2009.
  14. M.K. Meyer, G.L. Hofman, R.V. Strain, C.R. Clark, J.R. Stuart, "Metallographic Analysis of Irradiated RERTR-3 Fuel Test Specimens", Proceedings of the RERTR 2000 23rd International Meeting on Reduced Enrichment for Research Test Reactors, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 2000 October 1 - 6.
  15. S.L. Hayes, G.L. Hofman, M.K. Meyer, J. Rest, and J.L. Snelgrove, "Modeling of High-Density U-Mo Dispersion Fuel Plate Performance", Proceedings of the RERTR 2002 24rd International Meeting on Reduced Enrichment for Research Test Reactors, San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina, 2002 November 3 - 8.
  16. M.E. Cunningham, and K.L. Peddicord, "Heat Conduction in Spheres Packed in an Infinite Regular Cubic Array", International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 24, 1981, pp. 1081-1088. https://doi.org/10.1016/0017-9310(81)90157-5
  17. S. Van den Berghe, W. Van Renterghem, and A. Leenaers, "Transmission electron microscopy investigation of irradiated U-7 wt%Mo dispersion fuel", Journal of Nuclear Material, 375, 2008, pp. 340-346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2007.12.006

Cited by

  1. -BeO pp.1521-0537, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1080/01457632.2017.1341216