About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
Materials in Nuclear Energy Systems (MiNES) 2025
|
| Symposium
|
Materials in Nuclear Energy Systems (MiNES) 2025
|
| Presentation Title |
Cluster Dynamics Simulations of the Full Xenon-Vacancy-Interstitial Phase-Space in Irradiated UO2 |
| Author(s) |
Sophie Blondel, Michael Cooper, Conor Galvin, Christopher Matthews, Anton Schneider, Brian Wirth, David Andersson |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Conor Galvin |
| Abstract Scope |
The ability to model the evolution of bubble pressures in irradiated UO2 is very important for simulations of fuel fragmentation caused by over-pressurized bubbles in fuel pellets that have been exposed to high-burnup conditions. We couple the relevant physics from Centipede, a cluster dynamics code modeling single xenon atoms and how they interact with uranium and oxygen vacancy and interstitial defects (the single xenon atom clusters being responsible for fission gas diffusion), to Xolotl, a cluster dynamics code modeling the xenon bubble population from single xenon to the largest bubble, to resolve the full xenon-vacancy-interstitial phasespace and is spatially resolved from 0D to 3D. The bubble pressures can be computed through equations of state which have recently been developed from molecular dynamics simulations. After an overview of the theoretical background, we will present the benchmarking in 0D between the two codes under constant xenon concentration, including results for xenon self-diffusivity and xenon to Schottky defect ratio. Finally, we will demonstrate the ability to predict the bubble pressure evolution for one fuel cycle under relevant irradiation conditions, comparing the predictions to available experimental data of bubble density and sizes. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Undecided |