EFFECT OF FUEL PARTICLE SIZES ON THE THERMOMECHANICAL BEHAVIORS IN THE ROD-TYPE DISPERSION NUCLEAR FUEL ELEMENTS

摘要

A three-dimensional finite element model for the dispersion nuclear fuel element is established.Theeffects of the fuel particle sizes on the thermo-mechanical behaviors are investigated.The computationresults show that with increasing the radius of the fuel particles from 70μm to 300μm,the maximumtemperature increases by 2％,and the maximum Mises stress in the matrix increases dramatically.Ourresearch indicates that the small-particle rod-type fuel element have superiority in both thermalperformance and mechanical performance.This study lays a foundation for the further research on theirradiation-induced mechanical behaviors in the dispersion-type fuel rods.