Transient fuel performance analysis for the preliminary fuel concept of general atomics fast modular reactor

IF 2.1 3区工程技术 Q1 NUCLEAR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Nuclear Engineering and Design Pub Date : 2025-09-30 DOI:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2025.114494

Soon K. Lee , Yinbin Miao , Aaron J. Oaks , Shipeng Shu , Abdellatif M. Yacout , Jason Rizk , John Bolin , Christopher Ellis , Hangbok Choi

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Abstract

This study investigates the transient fuel performance of General Atomics Fast Modular Reactor (GA-FMR) during accident scenarios, focusing on the behavior of its innovative fuel system that combines high-assay low enriched uranium dioxide (HALEUO2) fuel with SiGA® ceramic matrix composite silicon carbide cladding. The preliminary fuel design’s response was analyzed during reactivity-initiated accidents (RIA) and loss of coolant accidents (LOCA) using BISON fuel performance analysis code, which included both the diffusion enhanced and BISON-FASTGRASS coupled UO₂ models. The RIA analysis demonstrated that effective reactivity control reduced fuel temperature, though with transient fission gas release resulting in additional tensile stress state on the cladding. LOCA simulations revealed differing predictions between the two models: the BISON UO₂ model showed more transient fission gas release but minimal pellet expansion, while the BISON-FASTGRASS UO₂ model predicted less pronounced fission gas release but more fuel swelling and thermal expansion, potentially leading to pellet-cladding mechanical interaction. These findings highlight critical areas for fuel design optimization and identify knowledge gaps requiring further experimental and computational investigation to advance GA-FMR fuel development.

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通用原子快堆初始燃料概念的瞬态燃料性能分析

本研究研究了通用原子快速模块化反应堆（GA-FMR）在事故场景下的瞬态燃料性能，重点研究了其创新燃料系统的行为，该系统将高含量低浓度二氧化铀（HALEUO2）燃料与SiGA®陶瓷基复合碳化硅包层相结合。采用BISON燃料性能分析代码，包括扩散增强模型和BISON- fastgrass耦合UO2模型，对初始燃料设计在反应性引发事故（RIA）和冷却剂损失事故（LOCA）中的响应进行了分析。RIA分析表明，有效的反应性控制降低了燃料温度，尽管瞬态裂变气体释放导致包层上额外的拉伸应力状态。LOCA模拟揭示了两种模型之间的不同预测：BISON UO2模型显示出更多的瞬态裂变气体释放，但球团膨胀最小，而BISON- fastgrass UO2模型预测裂变气体释放不那么明显，但更多的燃料膨胀和热膨胀，可能导致球团-包层的机械相互作用。这些发现突出了燃料设计优化的关键领域，并确定了需要进一步实验和计算研究的知识空白，以推进GA-FMR燃料的开发。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Nuclear Engineering and Design 工程技术-核科学技术

CiteScore

3.40

自引率

11.80%

发文量

377

审稿时长

5 months

期刊介绍： Nuclear Engineering and Design covers the wide range of disciplines involved in the engineering, design, safety and construction of nuclear fission reactors. The Editors welcome papers both on applied and innovative aspects and developments in nuclear science and technology. Fundamentals of Reactor Design include: • Thermal-Hydraulics and Core Physics • Safety Analysis, Risk Assessment (PSA) • Structural and Mechanical Engineering • Materials Science • Fuel Behavior and Design • Structural Plant Design • Engineering of Reactor Components • Experiments Aspects beyond fundamentals of Reactor Design covered: • Accident Mitigation Measures • Reactor Control Systems • Licensing Issues • Safeguard Engineering • Economy of Plants • Reprocessing / Waste Disposal • Applications of Nuclear Energy • Maintenance • Decommissioning Papers on new reactor ideas and developments (Generation IV reactors) such as inherently safe modular HTRs, High Performance LWRs/HWRs and LMFBs/GFR will be considered; Actinide Burners, Accelerator Driven Systems, Energy Amplifiers and other special designs of power and research reactors and their applications are also encouraged.