About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
Materials in Nuclear Energy Systems (MiNES) 2025
|
| Symposium
|
Materials in Nuclear Energy Systems (MiNES) 2025
|
| Presentation Title |
Thermal, Mechanical, and Transient Testing of Fission Gas-Bearing UO2 With High-Burnup Microstructures Under LOCA and RIA Conditions |
| Author(s) |
Kevin Yan, Dong Zhao, Andre Broussard, Saurabh Kumar Sharma, Scarlett Widgeon Paisner, Furui Chen, Jie Lian |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Kevin Yan |
| Abstract Scope |
Fuels at high burnup (HBu) experience changes to their composition, density, and microstructure such as grain refinement and pore nucleation leading to drastic changes to their thermal mechanical and transient properties and posing concerns to safety and fuel performance. This work aims to fabricate pure and Cr2O3-doped UO2 with HBu microstructures and fission gas (Xe, Kr)-bearing pores using spark plasma sintering (SPS) and characterize their thermomechanical, thermophysical, and thermal-transient properties. Thermomechanical and thermophysical properties are measured using laser flash analysis and micro/nano-indentation techniques while thermal transient testing was preformed using an innovative SPS setup allowing for the control of ramping rates from 10 to 500℃ per second mimicking the temperature ramping rates observed in loss of coolant (LOCA) and reactivity-initiated accident (RIA) accident scenarios. Sample fragmentation and microstructural evolution are noted from this transient study where fission gas-bearing pores pressurize during rapid temperature ramping leading to bubble nucleation on the surface, chip delamination, and grain boundary stretching. Results from this thermal property characterization are used to create an experimentally informed finite element (FEA) model where measured centerline and edge temperature profiles from transient testing is used as thermal loading conditions. The critical principal stresses are then found corresponding to temerature gradients that cause sample fragmentation. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Undecided |