About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Computational Thermodynamics and Kinetics
|
| Presentation Title |
Study of Multiphase Zirconium Oxidation Using Phase-Field Modeling |
| Author(s) |
Jiho Kim, Kunok Chang |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Jiho Kim |
| Abstract Scope |
The phase-field method is employed to model the high-temperature oxidation of zirconium-based nuclear fuel cladding under loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) conditions, focusing on the microstructural evolution driven by oxygen diffusion. Using one of the phase-field methods, the Kim-Kim-Suzuki (KKS) model within the MOOSE framework, the oxidation kinetics and phase distribution (HCP-Zr, BCC-Zr, and monoclinic zirconium oxide) are investigated for various temperatures and oxygen potentials at the both inside and outside of cladding. The thermodynamic properties of each phase are derived from the Zr-O binary system. Although this work has a limit in that the cladding is assumed to be pure zirconium, one- and two-dimensional simulations of the APR1400 reactor cladding show that oxide growth follows Wagner's metal oxidation theory. In this study, the HCP-Zr phase forms between the BCC-Zr and oxide phases which is consistent with the experimental results. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Computational Materials Science & Engineering, Modeling and Simulation, Phase Transformations |