Thermochemical prediction of chemical form distributions of fission products in LWR mixed oxide fuels

Radial distribution of chemical forms of fission products (FPs) in LWR mixed oxide (MOX) fuel pins was theoretically predicted by a thermochemical computer code SOLGASMIX-PV. The amounts of fission products generated in the fuel were calculated by ORIGEN-2 code, and the radial distributions of temperature and oxygen potential were calculated by taking the neutron depression and oxygen redistribution in the fuel into account. A fuel pellet was radially divided into 51 sections and chemical forms of FPs were calculated in each section. The effects of linear heat rating (LHR) and average O/U ratio on radial distribution of chemical form were evaluated. It was found that the radial distribution of chemical forms depends strongly on the LHR and the O/M ratio, and is not proportional to that of burnup. (author)