Structural integrity of hydrided nuclear fuel cladding

2012 ◽  
Vol 1475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús Ruiz-Hervías ◽  
F. Javier Gomez ◽  
Miguel A. Martín-Rengel ◽  
Elena Torres
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Element Model ◽  
Testing Temperature ◽  
Cohesive Crack ◽  
Crack Model ◽  
Fuel Cladding ◽  
Ring Compression ◽  
Different Temperatures ◽  
Nuclear Fuel Cladding

ABSTRACTThe structural integrity of nuclear fuel cladding is affected by the precipitation of hydrides during operation, which may embrittle the cladding. The aim of this work is to obtain the mechanical and fracture properties of the cladding as a function of the hydrogen content and testing temperature. To this end, the embrittlement caused by circumferential hydrides was simulated on unirradiated fuel cladding samples in the laboratory. The structural integrity of the cladding was assessed at different temperatures (20, 135 and 300ºC), by using the ring compression test. The mechanical properties and the fracture energy were calculated from the experimental load vs. displacement curves, by means of a finite element model which incorporates the cohesive crack model.

scholarly journals Computational Geometry-Based 3D Yarn Path Modeling of Wound SiCf/SiC-Cladding Tubes and Its Application to Meso-Scale Finite Element Model

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianbo Tang ◽  
Gang Zhao ◽  
Jun Wang ◽  
Yue Ding ◽  
Yajie Feng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element ◽  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Element Model ◽  
Optimization Method ◽  
Filament Winding ◽  
Fe Model ◽  
Path Modeling ◽  
Fuel Cladding ◽  
Nuclear Fuel Cladding ◽  
Meso Scale

The filament winding process is a competitive performing technology for nuclear fuel cladding tubes due to its high automation. The study of the yarn path on the mandrel surface is vital to design and produce the cladding tube with the desired mechanical properties, reducing manufacturing time and costs. The geodesic and semi-geodesic trajectories are used to create a 3D yarn path in this paper. A 3D yarn path optimization method based on the principle of minimum potential energy is proposed to simulate the overlap effect in accord with the real winding process. The finite element (FE) mesh based on the 3D yarn path has been used for the mechanical analysis of the cladding tube. The embedded region constraint is applied to define the interaction between the matrix mesh and the yarn mesh to model the meso-structure of the cladding tube. Based on the meso-scale FE model, the mechanical behavior of the wound SiCf/SiC nuclear fuel cladding tube is studied in detail. The results show that due to the neglect of the overlap effect, the conventional laminate model overestimates the cladding tube strength. The proposed meso-scale FE model can accurately predict the failure of the cladding tube. The results also confirm that the creation of a 3D yarn path and the derived meso-scale FE model, representing an accurate wound structure, are of importance to the prediction of the performance of the cladding tube.

Failure Criteria for Unirradiated PWR Cladding Subjected to Ring Compression Tests

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesus Ruiz-Hervias ◽  
Miguel Angel Martin-Rengel ◽  
Francisco Javier Gomez-Sanchez
Keyword(s):  
Radial Direction ◽  
Experimental Testing ◽  
Failure Criteria ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Compression Tests ◽  
Fuel Cladding ◽  
Ring Compression Test ◽  
Ring Compression ◽  
Nuclear Fuel Cladding ◽  
Hydride Reorientation

The ring compression test applied to nuclear fuel cladding is relatively easy to perform but difficult to interpret. It can be representative of the loading state associated to a hypothetical spent fuel assembly drop accident. This is particularly important for spent fuel cladding subjected to drying operations previous to storage and transportation, because they may produce hydride reorientation along the radial direction of cladding. In this paper, experimental testing and numerical simulations are combined to obtain operative failure criteria from the results of the ring compression tests on unirradiated pre-hydrided samples with radial hydrides, simulating drying, storage and subsequent transport conditions.

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