Finite Element Simulation for Structural Response of U7Mo Dispersion Fuel Plates via Fluid-Thermal-Structural Interaction
This article presents numerical simulation of dispersion fuel mini plates via fluid-thermal-structural interaction performed by commercial finite element solver COMSOL Multiphysics to identify initial mechanical response under actual operating conditions. Since fuel particles are dispersed in Aluminum matrix, and temperatures during the fabrication process reach to the melting temperature of the Aluminum matrix, stress/strain characteristics of the domain cannot be reproduced by using simplified models and assumptions. Therefore, fabrication induced stresses were considered and simulated via image based modeling techniques with the consideration of the high temperature material data. In order to identify the residuals over the U7Mo particles and the Aluminum matrix, a representative SEM image was employed to construct a microstructure based thermo-elasto-plastic FE model. Once residuals and plastic strains were identified in micro-scale, solution was used as initial condition for subsequent multiphysics simulations at the continuum level. Furthermore, since solid, thermal and fluid properties are temperature dependent and temperature field is a function of the velocity field of the coolant, coupled multi-physics simulations were considered. First, velocity and pressure fields of the coolant were computed via fluid-structural interaction. Computed solution for velocity fields were used to identify the temperature distribution on the coolant and on the fuel plate via fluid-thermal interaction. Finally, temperature fields and residual stresses were used to obtain the stress field of the plates via fluid-thermal-structural interaction.