Verification and improvement of finite element model for fuel assembly

finite element model should be verified by the equivalent test results. KAERI constructed the test facility, called the Fuel Assembly Mechanical Characterization Tester (FAMeCT), to carry a series of mechanical tests to determine the structural characteristics of the nuclear fuel assembly on a full size model basis. These test series cover vibration, impact and stiffness characteristic tests in air. A simplified beam model has been developed using ANSYS and compared to test results. The four thimble tubes and one instrumentation tube are modeled with 3-dimensional beam element. The four different grid types are represented by 3-dimensional beam element. The numerical results using the simplified beam model show very good agreement with the experimental results. This demonstrates that application of the simplified beam model leads to very accurate and efficient numerical solutions