A mono-dimensional nuclear fuel performance analysis code, PUMA, development from a coupled approach

Multidimensional-multi-physical phenomena in nuclear fuels are treated as a set of mono-dimensional-coupled problems which encompass heat, displacement, fuel constituent redistribution, and fission gas release. Rather than uncoupling these coupled equations as in conventional fuel performance analysis codes, efforts are put into to obtain fully coupled solutions by relying on the recent advances of numerical analysis. Through this approach, a new SFR metal fuel performance analysis code, called PUMA (Performance of Uranium Metal fuel rod Analysis code) is under development. Although coupling between temperature and fuel constituent was made easily, the coupling between the mechanical equilibrium equation and a set of stiff kinetics equations for fission gas release is accomplished by introducing one-level Newton scheme through backward differentiation formula. Displacement equations from 1D finite element formulation of the mechanical equilibrium equation are solved simultaneously with stress equation, creep equation, swelling equation, and FGR equations. Calculations was made successfully such that the swelling and the hydrostatic pressure are interrelated each other. (authors)