Scope |
Nuclear fuel modeling and simulations are integral to the safe operation of current reactors as well as the ongoing development of traditional and advanced fuel designs. Computer codes employing an array of interrelated models are used to predict fuel performance under both steady-state and transient operating conditions. Following irradiation, additional modeling is often needed to predict fuel behavior during transportation and storage conditions. Code accuracy is clearly dependent on the models utilized and, regardless of the approach (i.e., first principles or data driven), the validity and associated uncertainty of these models must be considered as new operating parameters or materials are introduced. Traditional light water reactor fuels consisting of uranium dioxide fuel pellets within a zirconium alloy cladding tube are being continuously driven toward higher burnup. Efforts to achieve this goal via increased enrichment and longer cycles are expected to push existing data-driven models beyond their validated range. Similarly, advanced fuel designs, such as accident tolerant fuel concepts (ATF), typically incorporate alternative (e.g., uranium silicide or chromia-doped uranium dioxide) fuels and alternative claddings, such as chrome-coated zirconium alloy claddings or other advanced cladding materials (e.g., FeCrAl alloys or SiC composites). The introduction of new materials combined with limited in-core experience requires additional model development efforts and assessments against experimental data.
The aim of this symposium is to highlight recent advances in nuclear fuel modeling and any assessments against relevant data. Model-to-model and model-to-data comparisons for traditional and advanced fuel designs during normal, transient, and accident scenarios are of interest as well as models describing post-irradiation transportation and storage conditions. Models of general responses, such as the fuel’s thermomechanical response, are of interest as well as more specific models of fission gas release, microstructural evolution (e.g., high burnup rim formation), and cladding corrosion. Although the primary fuels of interest for this symposium are light-water fuel, models of fuel forms and cladding materials for advanced reactor designs are also of interest. |