Modelling of Pellet Cladding Interaction During Power Ramps in PWR Rods by Means of TRANSURANUS Fuel Rod Analysis Code

摘要

Pellet-cladding interaction (PCI) in PWR type rods subjected to power ramps was analysed by means of TRANSURANUS (TU) fuel rod performance code. PCI phenomena depend on the fuel power history - i.e. by several irradiation and thermal induced phenomena occurring in the fuel rod and mutually interacting during its life in reactor - and may become critical for cladding integrity under accidental conditions. Ten test fuel rods, whose power histories and post irradiation experiment (PIE) data were available from the OECD/NEA-IAEA International Fuel Performance Experiment (IFPE) database through the Studsvik SUPER-RAMP Project, were simulated by TRANSURANUS. During a power ramp pellet gaseous swelling can be inhibited by cladding pressure and can be over-predicted by a normal operation swelling model. This phenomenon was simulated by a new formulation of a fuel swelling model already available in the code, in order to consider hot pressing of inter-granular fuel porosity due to the high hydrostatic stress resulting from PCI: it was found that TRANSURANUS, as a result of the proposed swelling formulation as well as of the accurate modelling of the other phenomena occurring during irradiation, gives correct predictions on PCI induced fuel rod failures. In addition, PCI failure threshold identified by TRANSURANUS was compared with the technological limits known in literature: the possibility of relaxing these limits for low burn-up values and the preponderance of the European fuel rod design in front of PCI emerged from TU analyses. Finally, a good agreement was found between TU evaluations and PIE data, with regard to fission gas release, fuel grain growth, and creep, corrosion and elongation of the cladding.