• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.7
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• pp.2475-2490
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• 2022

The Accident Tolerant Fuel (ATF) is a new concept of fuel, which can not only withstand the consequences of the accident for a longer time, but also maintain or improve the performance under operating conditions. ISAA is a self-developed severe accident analysis code, which uses modular structures to simulate the development processes of severe accidents in nuclear plants. The basic version of ISAA is developed based on UO₂-Zr fuel. To study the potential safety gain of ATF cladding, an improved version of ISAA, referred to as ISAA-ATF, is introduced to analyze the station blackout accident of PWR using ATF cladding. The results show that ATF cladding enable the core to maintain a longer time compared to zirconium alloy cladding, thereby enhancing the accident mitigation capability. Meanwhile, the generation of hydrogen is significantly reduced and delayed, which proves that ATF can improve the safety characteristics of the nuclear reactor.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2016

For a long time, a top priority in the nuclear industry was the safe, reliable, and economic operation of light water reactors. However, the development of accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) became a hot topic in the nuclear research field after the March 2011 events at Fukushima, Japan. In Korea, innovative concepts of ATF have been developing to increase fuel safety and reliability during normal operations, operational transients, and also accident events. The microcell $UO_2$ and high-density composite pellet concepts are being developed as ATF pellets. A microcell $UO_2$ pellet is envisaged to have the enhanced retention capabilities of highly radioactive and corrosive fission products. High-density pellets are expected to be used in combination with the particular ATF cladding concepts. Two concepts-surface-modified Zr-based alloy and SiC composite material-are being developed as ATF cladding, as these innovative concepts can effectively suppress hydrogen explosions and the release of radionuclides into the environment.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.741-751
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• 2021

There has been a deep interest in trying to find better-performing fuel clad motivated by the desire to decrease the likelihood of the reactor barrier failure like what happened in Fukushima in recent years. In this study, the effect of move towards accident tolerant fuel (ATF) cladding as the most attracting concept for improving reactor safety is investigated for SMART modular reactor. These reactors have less production cost, short construction time, better safety and higher power density. The SiC and FeCrAl materials are considered as the most potential candidate for ATF cladding, and the results are compared with Zircaloy cladding material from reactor physics point of view. In this paper, the calculations are performed by generating PMAX library by DRAGON lattice physics code to be used for further reactor core analysis by PARCS code. The differential and integral worth of control and safety rods, reactivity coefficient, power and temperature distributions, and boric acid concentration during the cycle are analyzed and compared from the conventional fuel cladding. The rod ejection accident (REA) is also performed to study how the power changed in response to presence of the ATF cladding in the reactor core. The key quantitative finding can be summarized as: 20 ℃ (3%) decrease in average fuel temperature, 33 pcm (3%) increase in integral rod worth and cycle length, 1.26 pcm/℃ (50%) and 1.05 pcm/℃ (16%) increase in reactivity coefficient of fuel and moderator, respectively.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.136-142
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• 2022

This paper investigates the enhanced wear performance of a CrAl coated accident tolerant fuel (ATF) cladding. In the wake of the Fukushima accident, extensive research on ATF with respect to improving the oxidation resistance of cladding materials is ongoing. Since coated Zr claddings can be applied without major changes to the criteria for reactor core design, many researchers are studying coatings for claddings. To improve the quality of the CrAl coating layer, optimization of the manufacturing process is imperative. This study employs arc ion plating to obtain improved CrAl coated claddings using CrAl binary alloy targets through an improved coating method. Surface roughness and adhesion are improved, and droplets are reduced. Furthermore, the coated layer has a dense and fine microstructure. In scratch tests, all the tested CrAl coated claddings exhibit a superior resistance compared to the Zr cladding. In a fretting wear test, the wear volume of the CrAl coated claddings is smaller compared to the Zr cladding. Furthermore, the coated cladding manufactured through the improved process exhibits better wear resistance than other CrAl coated claddings. Based on these results, we suggest that fine microstructure is attributed to a mechanically and microstructurally robust CrAl coating layer, which enhances wear resistance.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.16-25
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• 2016

In severe loss of coolant accidents (LOCA), similar to those experienced at Fukushima Daiichi and Three Mile Island Unit 1, the zirconiumalloy fuel claddingmaterials are rapidlyheateddue to nuclear decay heating and rapid exothermic oxidation of zirconium with steam. This heating causes the cladding to rapidly react with steam, lose strength, burst or collapse, and generate large quantities of hydrogen gas. Although maintaining core cooling remains the highest priority in accident management, an accident tolerant fuel (ATF) design may extend coping and recovery time for operators to restore emergency power, and cooling, and achieve safe shutdown. An ATF is required to possess high resistance to steam oxidation to reduce hydrogen generation and sufficient mechanical strength to maintain fuel rod integrity and core coolability. The initiative undertaken by Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) is to demonstrate the feasibility of developing an ATF cladding with capability to maintain its integrity in $1,200-1,500^{\circ}C$ steam for at least 24 hours. This ATF cladding utilizes thin-walled Mo-alloys coated with oxidation-resistant surface layers. The basic design consists of a thin-walled Mo alloy structural tube with a metallurgically bonded, oxidation-resistant outer layer. Two options are being investigated: a commercially available iron, chromium, and aluminum alloy with excellent high temperature oxidation resistance, and a Zr alloy with demonstratedcorrosionresistance.Asthese composite claddings will incorporate either no Zr, or thin Zr outer layers, hydrogen generation under severe LOCA conditions will be greatly reduced. Key technical challenges and uncertainties specific to Moalloy fuel cladding include: economic core design, industrial scale fabricability, radiation embrittlement, and corrosion and oxidation resistance during normal operation, transients, and severe accidents. Progress in each aspect has been made and key results are discussed in this document. In addition to assisting plants in meeting Light Water Reactor (LWR) challenges, accident-tolerant Mo-based cladding technologies are expected to be applicable for use in high-temperature helium and molten salt reactor designs, as well as nonnuclear high temperature applications.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.115-147
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• 2023

The Fukushima accident in 2011 revealed some major flaws in traditional nuclear fuel materials under accidental conditions. Thus, the focus of research has shifted toward "accident tolerant fuel" (ATF). The aim of this approach is to develop fuel material solutions that lead to improved reactor safety. The application of protective coatings on the surface of nuclear fuel cladding has been proposed as a near-term solution within the ATF framework. Many coating materials are being developed and evaluated. In this article, an overview of different zirconium-based alloys currently in use in the nuclear industry is provided, and their performances in normal and accidental conditions are discussed. Coating materials proposed by different institutions and organizations, their performances under different conditions simulating nuclear reactor environments are reviewed. The strengths and weaknesses of these coatings are highlighted, and the challenges addressed by different studies are summarized, providing a basis for future research. Finally, technologies and methods used to synthesize thin-film coatings are outlined.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.1236-1249
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• 2021

Although there are still controversial opinions and uncertainty on application of SiC_f/SiC composite cladding as next-generation cladding material for its great oxidation resistance in high temperature steam environment and other outstanding advantages, it cannot deny that SiC_f/SiC cladding is a potential accident tolerant fuel (ATF) cladding with high research priority and still in the engineering design stage for now. However, considering its disadvantages, such as low irradiated thermal conductivity, ductility that barely not exist, further evaluations of its in-pile behaviors are still necessary. Based on the self-developed code we recently updated, relevant thermohydraulic and mechanical models in FROBA-ATF were applied to simulate the cladding behaviors under normal and accident conditions in this paper. Even through steady-state performance analysis revealed that this kind of cladding material could greatly reduce the oxidation thickness, the thermal performance of UO₂-SiC was poor due to its low inpile thermal conductivity and creep rate. Besides, the risk of failure exists when reactor power decreased. With geometry optimization and dopant addition in pellets, the steady-state performance of UO₂-SiC was enhanced and the failure risk was reduced. The thermal and mechanical performance of the improved UO₂-SiC was further evaluated under Loss of coolant accident (LOCA) and Reactivity Initiated Accident (RIA) conditions. Transient results showed that the optimized ATF had better thermal performance, lower cladding hoop stress, and could provide more coping time under accident conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.279-286
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• 2016

To enhance the safety of nuclear reactors after the Fukushima accident, researchers are developing various types of accident tolerant fuel (ATF) to increase the coping time and reduce the generation of hydrogen by oxidation. Coated cladding, an ATF concept, can be a promising technology in view of its commercialization. We applied 3D printing technology to the fabrication of coated cladding as well as of coated pellets. Direct metal tooling (DMT) in 3D printing technologies can create a coated layer on the tubular cladding surface, which maintains stability during corrosion, creep, and wear in the reactor. A 3D laser coating apparatus was built, and parameter studies were carried out. To coat pellets with erbium using this apparatus, we undertook preliminary experiments involving metal pellets. The adhesion test showed that the coated layer can be maintained at near fracture strength.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.846-854
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• 2024

FEMAXI-ATF is being developed for fuel performance modeling of SiC cladded UO2 fuel with focuses on modeling pellet-cladding mechanical interactions (PCMI). The code considers probability distributions of mechanical strengths of monolithic SiC (mSiC) and SiC fiber reinforced SiC matrix composite (SiC/SiC), while it models pseudo-ductility of SiC/SiC and propagation of cladding failures across the wall thickness direction in deterministic manner without explicitly modeling cracks based on finite element method in one-dimensional geometry. Some hypothetical BWR power ramp conditions were used to test sensitivities of different model parameters on the analyzed PCMI behavior. The results showed that propagation of the cladding failure could be modeled by appropriately reducing modulus of elasticities of the failed wall element, so that the mechanical load of the failed element could be re-distributed to other intact elements. The probability threshold for determination of the wall element failure did not have large influence on the predicted power at failure when the threshold was varied between 25 % and 75 %. The current study is still limited with respect to mechanistic modeling of SiC failure as it only models the propagation of the cladding wall element failure across the homogeneous continuum wall without considering generations and propagations of cracks.

• Composites Research
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.161-174
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• 2022

SiC fiber-reinforced SiC matrix composite is a promising accident-tolerant fuel cladding material to improve the safety of light water nuclear reactors. Compared to the current zirconium alloy fuel cladding as well as metallic accident-tolerant fuel cladding, SiC composite fuel cladding has exceptional accident-tolerance such as excellent structural integrity and extremely low corrosion rate during severe accident of light water nuclear reactors, which reduces reactor core temperature and delays core degradation processes. In this paper, we introduce the concept, technical issues, and properties of SiC composite accident-tolerant fuel cladding during operation and accident scenarios of light water nuclear reactors.