About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Ceramics and Ceramic-Based Composites for Nuclear Applications III
|
| Presentation Title |
Computational study of the impact of dopants on UO2 creep rates |
| Author(s) |
David Andersson, Conor Galvin, Anton Schneider, Pieterjan Robbe, Yash Pachaury, Antoine Claisse, Laurent Capolungo, Michael Cooper |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
David Andersson |
| Abstract Scope |
This study investigates the use of dopants in UO2 pellets to improve their plasticity and reduce pellet-cladding mechanical interactions (PCMI), particularly under accident conditions. Dopants like chromium promote grain growth, influencing microstructure and deformation behavior. A physics-based diffusional creep model, previously developed from lower-length-scale data, was refined using Bayesian inference to quantify uncertainties in creep rate predictions. A neural network surrogate model enabled computational efficiency for this uncertainty quantification (UQ), significantly reducing prior uncertainties and reconciling experimental discrepancies within a grain boundary creep framework. This calibrated model informed data for integration into the BISON fuel performance code. Additionally, a mechanistic LApx crystal plasticity-based model was developed to capture dislocation climb and glide processes, especially under high-stress conditions relevant to doped UO2 with large grains. The findings demonstrate that larger grain sizes in doped UO2 enhance deformation rates in the glide regime, potentially offering improved PCMI. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Nuclear Materials, Modeling and Simulation, Ceramics |