Modelling of UO2-based SIMFUEL Thermal Conductivity
Auteur : P. G. Lucuta, Hj Matzke, Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories. Fuel Materials Branch, R. A. Verrall
Date de publication : 1994
Éditeur : Fuel Materials Branch, Chalk River Laboratories
Nombre de pages : 17
Résumé du livre
SIMFUEL replicates the chemical state and microstructure of irradiated fuel by adding inactive elements to uranium oxide powder in amounts appropriate for the chosen burnups. Previous studies have determined thermal conductivities of stoichiometric SIMFUEL with equivalent burnups of 1.5, 3, and 8 atomic percent. The observed changes in SIMFUEL thermal conductivity reflect the dependence on burnup due to the contributions from solid precipitated phases and dissolved oxides in the matrix. Based on SIMFUEL results, this paper evaluates the effect of these two classes of fission products on the uranium oxide thermal conductivity. Degradation of the matrix thermal conductivity due to dissolved fission products, after corrections for the precipitated-product phases, was analyzed by considering their effect on the phonon heat current.