Comparison of MURR high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel element and design demonstration element irradiation thermo-mechanical analysis predictions
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Wang, Guanyi↗
Engineering topics
Bojanowski, Cezary
Publications and source records attributed to Bojanowski, Cezary.
The University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR) LEU Fuel Element Flow Test Preliminary Design
As part of the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) mission to eliminate or minimize the civilian use of weapons-grade highly enriched uranium (HEU, ≥ 20 wt% U-235) fuels, the NNSA Material Management and Minimization (M3) Office of Reactor Conversion and Uranium Supply is collaborating with six U.S. high performance research reactors (USHPRR), including one critical facility, to convert from the use of HEU to low-enriched uranium (LEU, < 20 wt% U-235) fuel. Primary conversion objectives for the USHPRR are to develop LEU fuel element designs that will ensure safe reactor operations and maintain the existing experimental facilities performance. The work is being conducted through many interrelated activities by stakeholders across organizations.
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
Evaluation of flow-induced plate deflection for University of Missouri research reactor low-enriched uranium fuel element
The University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR), located on the campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, is one of the six United States (U.S.) High Performance Research Reactors (USHPRR), including one critical facility, that are actively collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Office of Material Management and Minimization (M3) Reactor Conversion Program to convert from highly enriched uranium (HEU, ≥20 wt% U-235) fuel to low-enriched uranium (LEU, <20 wt% U-235) fuel. A new type of very high-density LEU fuel based on a monolithic alloy of uranium and 10 wt% molybdenum (U-10Mo) is expected to allow conversion of some USHPRR, including MURR. In the design of its fuel elements, MURR is using thin parallel curved fuel plates separated by coolant channels. In this work, fluid-structure interaction (FSI) analysis of the MURR LEU fuel element is performed at the element level (as compared to the plate level analysis), which models all components of the LEU fuel element, including fuel plates and the supporting structures. Therefore, the effect of supporting structures on the flow distribution within the element and the fuel plate deflection are evaluated. In addition to the element nominal flow rate and dimensions, the tolerances in the geometry of the coolant channel and plate thickness, the effect of a comb on plate deflection, and the uncertainty of the flow rate per element are evaluated. For the LEU fuel plates, which are thinner than the current HEU plates, the predicted plate deflection is found to be small compared to the fabrication and assembly tolerances. Thus, the FSI-induced deflections are not expected to noticeably reduce the coolant flow rate or predicted safety margins in the limiting channels for the MURR LEU fuel element. In addition to the simulation work, a hydraulic performance test of the MURR LEU fuel element is currently being planned to support conversion to the use of LEU fuel.
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
Characterizing Wheel-Soil Interaction Loads Using Meshfree Finite Element Methods: A Sensitivity Analysis for Design Trade Studies
A wheel experiencing sinkage and slippage events poses a high risk to planetary rover missions as evidenced by the mobility challenges endured by the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) project. Current wheel design practice utilizes loads derived from a series of events in the life cycle of the rover which do not include (1) failure metrics related to wheel sinkage and slippage and (2) performance trade-offs based on grouser placement/orientation. Wheel designs are rigorously tested experimentally through a variety of drive scenarios and simulated soil environments; however, a robust simulation capability is still in development due to myriad of complex interaction phenomena that contribute to wheel sinkage and slippage conditions such as soil composition, large deformation soil behavior, wheel geometry, nonlinear contact forces, terrain irregularity, etc. For the purposes of modeling wheel sinkage and slippage at an engineering scale, meshfree nite element approaches enable simulations that capture su cient detail of wheel-soil interaction while remaining computationally feasible. This study implements the JPL wheel-soil benchmark problem in the commercial code environment utilizing the large deformation modeling capability of Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) meshfree methods. The nominal, benchmark wheel-soil interaction model that produces numerically stable and physically realistic results is presented and simulations are shown for both wheel traverse and wheel sinkage cases. A sensitivity analysis developing the capability and framework for future ight applications is conducted to illustrate the importance of perturbations to critical material properties and parameters. Implementation of the proposed soil-wheel interaction simulation capability and associated sensitivity framework has the potential to reduce experimentation cost and improve the early stage wheel design proce
terramechanics↗