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DOE OSTI · 3384956

Full-core high-burnup BWR LOCA fuel performance analysis and FFRD susceptibility

Greenquist, Ian [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:000000021299065X)·Wysocki, Aaron [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000222043779)·Simon, Pierre-Clément A. [Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)] (ORCID:0000000170832628)·Sweet, Ryan [Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)]·Gamble, Kyle [Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)]·Asgari, Mehdi [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0009000236709970)·Hansen, Asher [Boise State Univ., ID (United States)]·Sarikaya, Baris [Constellation Energy Generation LLC, Kennett Square, PA (United States)]·Porter, Ian [Global Nuclear Fuel, Wilmington, NC (United States)]·Tusar, James [Constellation Energy Generation LLC, Kennett Square, PA (United States)]·Capps, Nathan [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)]·Salko, Jr., Robert [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000253566679)
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Abstract

The susceptibility of the boiling water reactor (BWR) Limerick Unit 1 to fuel fragmentation, relocation, and dispersal during a postulated large-break loss-of-coolant accident (LBLOCA) was calculated using a multiphysics framework. The simulations include full-core, rod-resolved neutronic, thermal hydraulic, and fuel performance models using the VERA, TRACE, and BISON codes. This work focused on the transient BISON simulations, which include both the normal operation and LBLOCA periods in the same simulations. Cladding integrity was assessed using two correlations that are included with BISON. make page break Several new BWR-specific features were recently added to BISON. This work represents the first time these features have been included in a core-scale set of simulations. This study hence evaluates the performance of these new models for an operating reactor with realistic operating conditions. Simulation results showed that cladding integrity was maintained (i.e., no rods burst). Finally, future work to improve BWR and PWR predictions using this framework is suggested.

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Greenquist, Ian [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:000000021299065X), Wysocki, Aaron [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000222043779), Simon, Pierre-Clément A. [Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)] (ORCID:0000000170832628), Sweet, Ryan [Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)], Gamble, Kyle [Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)], Asgari, Mehdi [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0009000236709970), Hansen, Asher [Boise State Univ., ID (United States)], Sarikaya, Baris [Constellation Energy Generation LLC, Kennett Square, PA (United States)], Porter, Ian [Global Nuclear Fuel, Wilmington, NC (United States)], Tusar, James [Constellation Energy Generation LLC, Kennett Square, PA (United States)], Capps, Nathan [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)], Salko, Jr., Robert [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000253566679). 2026-06-24. Full-core high-burnup BWR LOCA fuel performance analysis and FFRD susceptibility. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnuen.2026.1822290

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DOE OSTI2026

Effect of spacer grids on high-burnup fuel fragmentation, relocation, and dispersal

Increasing the fuel burnup limit in light-water reactors to improve fuel cycle economics requires a strong technical foundation. Experimental observations from the Halden and Studsvik programs have revealed severe fuel fragmentation during loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) conditions, highlighting the need for additional technical evaluation. Consequently, further LOCA test data are needed to complement existing findings and improve the understanding of fuel fragmentation, relocation, and dispersal (FFRD) behavior. Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Severe Accident Test Station has played a significant role in advancing the understanding of high-burnup fuel fragmentation, relocation, and dispersal phenomena. One remaining gap in the available experimental database is the effect of fuel assembly structural features on cladding deformation behavior during a LOCA, and more specifically, their impact on the fuel’s ability to fragment, relocate, and disperse. Recent analyses using the BISON fuel performance code suggest that cladding deformation near grid spacers will remain below the 3% threshold that has been reported in the NRC Research Information Letter, indicating that the cladding could remain mechanically constrained during the LOCA event. This paper builds upon the BISON analyses to design and conduct a series of out-of-cell tests aimed at further evaluating cladding deformation in and around grid spacers. In addition, these tests were used to assess local cladding temperature conditions and compare them against analytical predictions in order to better replicate expected in-reactor behavior. Finally, an in-cell high-burnup LOCA test was designed and performed to evaluate the effects of a grid spacer, or cladding restraint, on fuel fragmentation, relocation, and dispersal susceptibility. The high-burnup test results differed from those of historical LOCA experiments, with a recorded rupture temperature of 861°C. Two ballooned regions and corresponding rupture openings were observed, with rupture widths of approximately 0.64 mm for both ruptures and rupture lengths of 4.8 mm and 5.6 mm, respectively.

Capps, Nathan [ORNL]↗
DOE OSTI2026

BISON analyses of TRISO fuel performance, its dependence on time-at-temperature, and possible implications for fuel design and qualification

The Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development and Qualification (AGR) program has established a substantial technical foundation to support private entry into the U.S. high-temperature gas-cooled reactor market. However, emerging tristructural isotropic (TRISO)-fueled reactor applications include small modular reactors and microreactors with longer fuel residence times, which may expose fuels to higher time-at-temperature (TAT) values than were explored by the AGR program. Increased TAT could affect diffusive and thermomechanical behaviors such as Pd penetration, fission gas release, creep, and fission product transport. In this work, we applied multiscale best-estimate BISON fuel performance modeling to assess these effects within a representative design space based on the AGR-5/6/7 experiment and analyzed trends in predicted particle and compact fuel performance metrics with possible implications for near-term fuel design and qualification. BISON unambiguously predicted that TRISO fuel performance is sensitive to TAT. Increasing TAT was not predicted to increase the magnitude of failure-inducing tangential stresses in particle coating layers. Predictions obtained using a mechanistic model for Pd penetration indicated that penetration depth does not depend strongly on TAT. While these observations suggest that AGR testing provides a conservative upper bound for the steady-state operation of TRISO particles at lower powers and higher residence times, BISON also predicted that the release of poorly retained Ag would increase with TAT. Because these analyses applied models to extrapolate beyond the available experimental data, the authors recommend performing targeted experiments to confirm these predictions. Nevertheless, these predictions may provide reactor developers with enough confidence to make near-term design decisions associated with the potential fuel performance trade-offs of increasing TAT.

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI1996

Nuclear Safety [Vol. 37, No. 2, April-June 1996]

Nuclear Safety is a journal that covers significant issues in the field of nuclear safety. Its primary scope is safety in the design, construction, operation, and decommissioning of nuclear power reactors worldwide and the research and analysis activities that promote this goal, but it also encompasses the safety aspects of the entire nuclear fuel cycle, including fuel fabrication, spent-fuel processing and handling, and nuclear waste disposal, the handling of fissionable materials and radioisotopes, and the environmental effects of all these activities. Table of Contents for this issue follows. GENERAL SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS: 97 The Nuclear Community and the Public: Cognitive and Cultural Influences on Thinking About Nuclear Risk, M. A. Meyer; 109 Twenty-Third Water Reactor Safety Information Meeting, D. A. Copinger; ACCIDENT ANALYSIS: 126 Analysis of a PWR LBLOCA Without SCRAM, Trevor N. Tyler, Rafael Macian-Juan and John H. Mahaffy; DESIGN FEATURES: 139 Vulnerability of Multiple-Barrier Systems, N. C. Lind; ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS: 149 A Study of Wet Catalytic Oxidation of Radioactive Spent Ion Exchange Resin by Hydrogen Peroxide, Xingchao Jian, Tianbao Wu, and Guichun Yun; 157 A Comparison Study and Resolution of Differences Between Emergency Response and Safety Analysis Codes Used at the Savannah River Site, A. A. Simpkins; OPERATING EXPERIENCES: 164 Reactor Shutdown Experience, Compiled by J. W. Cletcher; RECENT DEVELOPMENTS: 167 Reports, Standards, and Safety Guides, D. S. Queener; 172 Proposed Rule Changes as of Dec. 31,1995; ANNOUNCEMENTS: 178 American Nuclear Society 1997 Annual Meeting; 178 American Nuclear Society Nuclear Criticality and Safety Division Topical Meeting; 176 The Authors.

05 NUCLEAR FUELS↗