Published 1977 | Version v1
Book

Fuel modelling: gap conductivity, gas bubble swelling and fission gas release

  • 1. AECL, Chalk River, Ont

Description

Irradiation of instrumented Zircaloy- and stainless steel-clad UO/sub 2/ elements has enabled one to examine the effects of filling-gas composition and pressure, fuel-to-sheath interfacial pressure and fuel-to-sheath gap, on the fuel-to-sheath heat-transfer coefficient. The experiments confirm the applicability of current models for gas-phase conductivity. The heat-transfer coefficient varied significantly during periods following a change in filling-gas pressure; this effect is attributed to the corresponding change in volume of fission gas bubbles within the fuel. A model for fission gas behavior is proposed, based on the accumulation of gas in grain boundary bubbles by diffusion or grain boundary sweeping and release when the bubbles interlink. Predicted results agree reasonably well with experimental data. 18 refs

Additional details

Publishing Information

Publisher
American Nuclear Society.
Imprint Place
Chicago, IL
Imprint Title
Water reactor fuel performance, ans topical meeting, 1977
Journal Page Range
p. 114-122.

Conference

Title
ANS topical meeting on water reactor fuel performance.
Dates
9 - 11 May 1981.
Place
St Charles, IL, USA.