Nuclear design Flashcards
average volumetric power of typical reactors
AGR = 3 kW/l
PHWR = 10 kW/l
RBMK = 20 kW/l
BWR = 50 kW/l
PWR = 100 kW/l
LMFR = 300 kW/l
what is the equivalent radiative heat transfer coefficent for the gap
h_irr = 4 * sigma * T_fo^3 / (1/eps_f + 1/eps_cl -1)
Thermal resistance of vod fuel
R_fuel = 1 / (4 * pi * avgK) * (void factor)
void factor = 1 - ln( (R_fo/R_fi)^2 ) / ((R_fo/R_fi)^2 -1)
hot channel coefficents
FzN = average hf hot ch / average hf average ch = 1.5 (Bessel)
FmaxN = max hf hot ch / average hf hot ch = 2.3 (cosine)
hentalpy hot ch factor
Fh = hentalpy rise in hot ch / hentalpy rise in avergae ch = 1.1
engineering safety factor
Feng = 1.05 (5%)
Robertson factor
RF = 4 / (chi^2R_fo^2) * I(chiR_fo) -1)
How can we categorize different tyoe of reactor (U, BR, cycle)
U = fuel fissioned/resource input = 0.5%(LWR) - 5% (LMFR)
BR = fission produced/atoms consumed
open or closed cycle
Burner: BR<1, open
Breeder: BR>1, open
Converter: BR<1, closed
Incinerators: BR=1
Melting temperature for fuels
Tmelt:
UO2 = 2800 °C
UN = 2300°C
Umetal = 110°C
What phenomena must be descirbed by fuel performance codes?
-Thermo-mechanical behaviour
-Neutron flux
-Fission gas and Helium
-Microstructural change (high burnup and restructuring)
-Radial temperature gradient (hourglassing, …)
-Chemical phenomena
Very different scales in space and time
Which phenomena are involved in fuel restructuring?
-Densification
-Grain growth
-Formation of columnar and equiaxed
-Formation of central void
Other related phenomena are:
-crack healing
-plutonium, hence power redistribution
Which phenomena contribute, negatively or positively, to restructuring?
- temperature caused evaporation and condensation in lenticular pores (high temperature vapours)
- diffusion due to temperature (Soret) and concentration gradients
- irradiation at EoL
- cracks increase the migration
Which are the thermal effects of restructuring?
- Better geometry
- Less porosity
- Pu redistribution increase power production towards the center
- O/M = 2 at perphery, lower at center, due to high volatility
Why a O/M ratio higher than 2 is dangerous?
High oxygen concentration can react and corrode the cladding if there is contact. For this reason pelets are always hypostoichiometric
What are the effects of plutonium redistribution?
-Reduction of melting temperature
-Increase of power production
-Reduction of thermal conductivity
What are the O/M stoichiometry effects?
-Fabrication with hypostochiometry to reduce risk of cladding corrosion so that conductivity increases during operation (pyramidal shape)
- T melting is maximum at O/M = 2
What is the effect of porosity?
It decreases fuel conductivity
fuel conductivity formula with all dependences?
K = (1/(A+BT) + CT^3 + D/T^2 * exp(-E/T) ) * (1-p)^alpha
Also it decrases asintotically with burnup
When densification and swelling are important in LWR?
Densification is dominant for Bu< 10 GWd/ton. It is due to frenkel pair created from fission. 5 MeV create 25000 Frenkel pair per each fission but only 5000 do not recombine and create densification. Interstitals are absobed and vacancies diffuse to grain boundary.
To limit densification, a limit on fuel porosity at fabrication must be respected (in LWR)
Above Bu>10 GWd/ton swelling dominate, due to fission gas
What happens in a LWR if p_gap > p_coolant ?
We have outward creep, cause Zry it’s not very resistant to creep -> the gap increase -> fuel temperature increases -> more gas are released -> p_gap increases
Also k_fuel decreases and D_hyd decreases -> T_coolant increases
What about densification in LMFR?
Densification due to restructuring is dominant respect to the one due to fission. Because of this porosity is actually wanted in FR fuel becuase it enhances restructuring
Void swelling
Happens at EoL for FR and causes both fuel and cladding to expand. The rate is almost the same.
Which are the main Pellet-Cladding interaction
Hourglassing, negligible for hollow pellets. This leades to
-high stresses in cladding
-chemical reaction between iodine and Zry (not with SS)
What is the burn up in MWd/ton?
Bu is the energy extracted per unit mass.
Bu = releases energy (MWd) / mass of uranium fuel (kg_U)
Tipically 1MWd/1.05 g_U235
We can also measure it as (released energy / mass of oxide fuel) which will be smaller of a factor 0.88.
The teoretical limit is 950’000 MWd/ton_U but in reality we reach around 50’000 - 70’000 MWd/ton_U
What is the burnup in FIMA?
FIMA = Fission per metal atom = fissions / initail metal atoms
So 1% FIMA = 9.5 MWd/kg_U
What are the effects of burnup ?
- may lead to a high burnup structure
- decrease young modulus
- decrease thermal conductivity
Bateman equations for burnup?
ciao
They are used for estimating the burnup. The complete form is an integral one but with the hp of one group cross section and no energy dependence:
dNm(r,t)/dt = -sigma_a,m N_m phi + sum_j(sigma_c,j N_j phi) + sum_k(lambda_k N_k) - lambda_m
We can also neglect isotopes with low concentration or reaction with low cross section.
We may understimate He production
Generalized plain strain
eps_zz = deltaZ/Z = constant
pure plain strain
eps_z = deltaZ/Z = 0
pure plain stress
sigma_z = 0
What are the consequences of helum embrittlement?
On metals is a loss of ductility not recoverable with annealing
How is He embrittlement generated?
- Due to n,alfa reactions on metals
- He migrate only for T/Tmelt > 0.5
- He migrate to grain boundaries
- At grain boundary it nucleate due to presence of nucleation sites (M_23 C_6) for T/Tmelt < 0.8
Why He can not be annealed?
If T increases M23C6 dissolve but the bubbles stay there and they will even expand. He embrittlement cannot be recovered
Bateman equation for helium production?
Scrivile scemo (pag.118)
Why He production is worse in fusion reactor?
Because in fusion reactor the neutrons have higher energy (14MeV) and the crossection of the reaction (n,alfa) increases with energy up to (10MeV)
What are the Helium embrittlement units of measure?
We use the ppm_He, the DPA (Displacement Per Atom) and the ration ppm/DPA.
fusion: ppm/DPA = 100
fast: ppm/DPA = 10
thermal: ppm/DPA = 1
What is the fission yield for gas?
Total is around 0.3.
Xe = 0.27
Kr = 0.03
Ar and He yield is very low
What is the trade off in fission gas release and retention?
If (deltaV/V)_gas is higher I close gap faster, Tfuel decreases but higher contact pressure
If FGR is higher the conductivity in gap decreases so Tfuel increases, p_gap increases but less contact pressure
FG in crystals in oxide vs metallic fuel?
Xenon is a very big atom.
Oxides fuel have fluorite structure that can accomodate Xe with low deformation (1%), while metallic fuel expand a lot (10%)
What is a-thermal release of fission gas?
If a fission happens in a range mu=6-7 micrometri to fuel boundary the particle is ejected directly outside the fuel.
fraction of a-thermal release = (piR^2-pi(R-mu)^2) / (piR^2) = 2pi muR / (piR^2) = 2mu/R
but actually mu/R due to simmetry of fission product emission
= 0.1%
This percentage is increased from
-porosity connected to the outside
-fuel cracks
-not uniform fission rate in fuel ( in LWR the fraction is higher due to selfshielding)
FGR magnitude in LWR and FR? How can FGR be measured?
LWR : 1%
FR : 70-90%
It can be measured from pressure in experimental setup, post irradiation examination with fluorescence or puncturing
What are the hp for FGR model?
Xe with null solubility
Xe precipitate at grain boundary or in bubbles
T and fission rate F are uniform in grain because grains are very small
Then we consider a spherical grain, trapping and re-solution faster than diffusion
What is the FGR model?
dP/dt = y * F
dC/dt = D* div^2 C - gC + bM + yF
dM/dt = gC - bM
P = fission gas produced
y = yield
F = fission rate
C = gas in fuel matrix, moving
M = gas in bubbles
with G = C+M
g,b»_space; D/a^2
b/(b+g)D = D_eff = 5e-8 * exp( -40262/T ) is very low
So we get: dG/dt = D_eff div^2 G +yF = - D_eff * pi^2/a^2 * G + yF
What happens when FG accumulate at boundary?
Gas accumulate, nucleate in bubbles, pressure increases, bubbles grow and connect. A path towards the gap is created by merging of the bubbles.
Swelling rate decreases after venting, togheter with FG released
What is the Vitanza threshold?
In a graph Bu - Tfuel the Vitanza threshold is the line below where the FGR is less than 1%.
It stops at 50GWd/ton of Burnup since this is when high burnup structure is formed
How to design the plenum for FG pressure?
Determine the FG produced, P, evaluate the released part, R, and use pV = nRT for calculating the new plenum pressure.
Plenum pressure will increase due to thermal expansion at startup then, less, due to FGR
What is the displacement vector?
u = ux + uy + uz
It’s the vector for each point that goes from the undeformed to the deformed configuration
fundamental Hps for mechanical analysis
Infinitesimal strain theory
Continuum deformable body
Infinitesimal strain theory. Means that displacements are smaller than the body so that geometry doesn’t change
Continuum deformable body, displacements are C^2 functions, acceptable only in infinitesimal strain theory.
What is the displacement gradient tensor?
It expresses the rigid motion + the local deformation. It’s U_ij = du_i/dx_j
It can be factored into a skew symmetric component (rigid rotations) omega_ij and a symmetric component (local strains) eps_ij
What is the local strain tensor?
It’s a connection between the displacement field and the stress field.
It’s normalized.
It can always be diagonalized.
The sum of the principal strains is invariant (deltaV/V).
Compatibility equation?
eps_ij = 1/2(u_ij + u_ji)
where u_ij = du_i / dx_j
What is the stress tensor?
It’s a tensor that take into account for all the forces acting in a single point. It has 6 unknowns since we’ll never consider polar materials.
So it’s symmetric.
If expressing tension, is positive.
It can be diagonalized and the sum of the trace is invariant.
1/3*tr(sigma) = sigma_hyd: hydrostatic pressure.
Which are the unknown of the mechanical problem?
3 u (u_x, u_y, u_z), displacements
6 eps (eps_ij), deformations
9 sigma (sigma_ij), stresses
+ the temperature
static equilibrium equation?
sigma_ij = sigma_ji (rotation equilibrium) per ogni i, j
sum_i (dsigma_ij/dx_i) + F_j = 0 (transaltion equilibrium) per ogni j
What equations describe a rigid body in equilibrium?
sum of moments and sum of forces = 0 if it has no costrains
what is a isostatic, hyperstatic or hypostatic problem?
isostatic: # costraint = # of degree of freedom