MetallicFuelLiquidCladdingPenetration

Computes loss of cladding thickness due to the liquid penetration into cladding during power transients.

Description

MetallicFuelLiquidCladdingPenetration finds the liquid penetration depth into the cladding near the fuel cladding interface in metallic fuels used in sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) under off-normal conditions. SFR metallic fuel usually adopts a binary (U-10Zr) or ternary (U-10Zr-xPu) fuel slug and a austenitic (316SS or D9) or martensitic (HT9) steel cladding. Thus, U and Pu in fuel tends to metallurgically interact with the stainless steel cladding. During steady-state operation, such interaction is solid-state in nature and can be handled by MetallicFuelWastage. On the other hand, at the elevated temperatures during off-normal transients, the interaction is dominated by liquid phase penetrating the stainless steel cladding, which would weaken the cladding enclosure and even compromise the fuel pin's integrity. Therefore, this phenomenon is one of the major causes of fuel failure at elevated temperature during power transients.

The IFR legacy single-parameter correlation (Tsai, 1990), established from Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) fuel behavior test apparatus (FBTA) EBR-II fuel/cladding eutectic test data available during its development period, is implemented to estimate eutectic liquid penetration rates. This bounding correlation is activated at a fixed threshold temperature of 700 °C. Also implemented is a set of improved correlations for evaluating eutectic liquid penetration under transient conditions, which have been recently developed, leveraging the OPTD (Shu et al., 2024). The OPTD, with over 150 records from ANL FBTA EBR-II/FFTF fuel/cladding eutectic tests, helps validate and refine these correlations for better model alignment with experimental results. The tested fuel/cladding combinations cover U-26Pu-10Zr/316SS, U-19Pu-10Zr/HT9, U-19Pu10Zr/D9, U-10Zr/HT9, U-10Zr/D9 and U-10Zr/316SS. The burnup values of these fuel specimens range from 3 to 17 atomic percent. The selected tests are of the constant-temperature type; the temperature and duration of the tests range from 620 to 850C and 5 minutes to 32 hours, respectively. Fuel- and burnup-dependent threshold temperatures were used in this set of correlations.

Forms of the Correlation

Based on the available experiments, it was concluded that there exist an onset temperature of approximately 700 725C for liquid cladding penetration. When the temperature is lower than the onset temperature, no liquid penetration was observed. On the other hand, if the temperature exceeds the onset temperature, liquid penetration is activated and the penetration rate follows the Arrhenius law. That is, the linear penetration rate ( in m/s) is dependent on the temperature with the following form:

(1)
ParameterUnitDescription
n.a.Coefficient
KActivation energy
KOnset temperature

The Eq. (1) assumes a linear growth kinetics for the liquid cladding penetration phenomenon. Recently detailed data analysis unveils that a parabolic kinetics matches the experimental data better, which has the following form as the temperature exceeds the onset temperature ():

(2)

or,

(3)

where C(T) is a temperature-dependent constant.

To make the definition of kinetic models consistent, as the majority of the experimental data were collected for a one-hour duration, it is assumed that both kinetics expressions should predict the same penetration depth at 1 hour.

(4)

Therefore,

(5)

Eq. (5) allows using of a consistent set of coefficients (, , and ) for both linear and parabolic kinetic form. Users have option to specify which kinetic form to use through "kinetic_model".

Legacy IFR Correlation by Tsai et al. (Tsai, 1990)

During the IFR program, the parameters were empirically fit based on the results of over fifty aforementioned FBTA experiment tests (Tsai, 1990). A summary of the correlation compared with representative test results can be found in Figure 1. It is clear that the empirical correlation provides a conservative estimate of the liquid phase penetration kinetics covering a variety of cladding and fuel compositions. The IFR legacy single-parameter correlation can be selected by choosing TSAI in "liquid_penetration_model". The model is a general model that does not distinguish Pu content and burnup effects. The default kinetic model to use this model is LINEAR.

Figure 1: The liquid penetration correlation compared with the FBTA test results (Tsai, 1990).

Recently Developed Model

Tsai et al.'s IFR legacy single-parameter correlation was developed during the FBTA projects, with additional tests and in-depth analyses conducted after its establishment. The enriched data set, along with detailed experimental notes, has been integrated into the OPTD. This facilitates the development of new correlations that differentiate between different fuels and, to a limited extent, burnup. Two types of correlations were developed: the least-squares fitting correlation and the conservative correlation. The former aims to provide a more accurate estimation of experimental data, while the latter is designed to be an upper bound of the experiments. Notably, both types of correlations share the same activation energy. The new ANL correlations can be selected by choosing ANL_LS and ANL_CONSERVATIVE in "liquid_penetration_model". A comparison between the legacy and updated correlation using binary fuel as an example can be found in Figure 2.

As the correlations are fuel- and burnup-dependent, users are also required to provide the information of initial Pu content in the fuel and the burnup through "fuel_pu" and "burnup". More description and performance of the updated correlation can be found in the reference that reports its development(Shu et al., 2024).

The default kinetic model to use this model is PARABOLIC.

Figure 2: The improvements made by the recent updated correlation.

Axial Effective Region

The liquid penetration should only occur in the region where fuel and cladding are both present and in contact. Thus, the calculation of this phenomenon should be disable in the axial positions without fuel in presence. To achieve this, the axial range where the fuel is in presence can be provided manually using "fuel_bottom_position" and "fuel_height". Any axial location from fuel_bottom_position to fuel_bottom_position + fuel_height is considered to have fuel present. Alternatively, if the mesh is generated by FIPDRodletMeshGenerator, the axial range can be obtained through the mesh metadata by provide "mesh_generator".

Additionally, as fuel length is subject to change during irradiation or out-of-pile furnace experiments, the axial effective region is also affected by this phenomenon. To capture this, users have an option to provide a postprocessor ("fuel_elongation_pp") that tracks the displacement of the fuel's top surface. Axial locations with fuel present will be from fuel_bottom_position to fuel_bottom_position + fuel_height + fuel_elongation_pp.

Melting Fuel

During the liquid cladding penetration procedure, the fuel also experiences melting. This MetallicFuelLiquidCladdingPenetration has a few correlations to calculate the thickness of the melting fuel zone from the outer surface of the fuel, which can be activated by "calculate_fuel_melting_thickness". The correlation options are as follows.

User Provided Ratio

The simplest correlation assumes a fixed fuel-to-cladding liquid volume ratio, which can be selected by setting "fuel_melting_model" as USER_PROVIDED_FACTOR. The ratio can be manually set through "fuel_to_cladding_melting_ratio", which should be based on empirical or mechanistic deduction.

Empirical Temperature/Pu/Burnup Dependent Correlations

A more complex set of empirical correlations were recently developed based on FBTA data, which can be selected by setting "fuel_melting_model" as INTRINSIC. Based on the trends shown in the FBTA data, the fuel-to-cladding melting ratio is fuel- and burnup-dependent. Similar to the cladding penetration correlations, the information of initial Pu content in the fuel and the burnup are required through "fuel_pu" and "burnup".

The empirical correlations are based on U-Pu-Fe ternary phase diagrams with correction factors to account for complexity in kinetics. The details can be found in the following reference (Miao et al., 2024). The correlations have the following form,

(6)

where is the U-to-Fe weight ratio as derived from the U-rich side of the liquidus curves on the U-Fe(0Pu), U-Fe(19Pu) and U-Fe(26Pu) phase diagrams, respectively (see Figure 3), is the correction factor for the U/Fe ratio, and is the volume factor accounts for the fact that the fuel contains Pu and Zr in addition to U. The values of and for various Pu compositions and burnup levels are listed in Table 1.

Figure 3: The liquidus curve for U-Pu-Zr system with 0, 19, and 26 wt.% Pu content.

Table 1: and values for different Pu and burnup conditions.

Pu ContentBurnup
0 wt.%No Dependence0.612.3
19 wt.%7 at.%0.403.0
19 wt.%7 at.%0.503.0
26 wt.%No Dependence0.903.3

The performance of the correlations is evaluated using the experiment results of the FBTA tests, as shown in Figure 4. The predictions of the correlations are generally conservative and consistent with the experimental observation.

Figure 4: The predicted molten fuel areas versus measured values for FBTA tests.

Example Input Syntax

[Materials<<<{"href": "../../syntax/Materials/index.html"}>>>]
  [liquid_penetration]
    type = MetallicFuelLiquidCladdingPenetration<<<{"description": "Computes loss of cladding thickness due to the liquid penetration into cladding during power transients.", "href": "MetallicFuelLiquidCladdingPenetration.html"}>>>
    temperature<<<{"description": "The coupled temperature (K)"}>>> = temp
    fuel_bottom_position<<<{"description": "The axial position of the bottom of the fuel slug."}>>> = 0.0
    fuel_height<<<{"description": "The height (axial length) of the fuel slug to be added to the slug bottom position to get the top axial position of the fuel."}>>> = 1.0
    outputs<<<{"description": "Vector of output names where you would like to restrict the output of variables(s) associated with this object"}>>> = all
  []
[]
(test/tests/metallic_fuel_liquid_cladding_penetration/liquid_penetration.i)

Input Parameters

  • fuel_melting_modelUSER_PROVIDED_FACTORThe model used to calculate fuel melting fraction based on cladding penetration.

    Default:USER_PROVIDED_FACTOR

    C++ Type:MooseEnum

    Options:INTRINSIC, USER_PROVIDED_FACTOR

    Controllable:No

    Description:The model used to calculate fuel melting fraction based on cladding penetration.

  • fuel_puGENERALFuel Pu concentration.

    Default:GENERAL

    C++ Type:MooseEnum

    Options:Pu_0, Pu_19, Pu_26, GENERAL

    Controllable:No

    Description:Fuel Pu concentration.

  • kinetic_modelDEFAULTThe kinetic model use to predict liquid penetration depth.

    Default:DEFAULT

    C++ Type:MooseEnum

    Options:LINEAR, PARABOLIC, DEFAULT

    Controllable:No

    Description:The kinetic model use to predict liquid penetration depth.

  • liquid_penetration_modelTSAIThe liquid penetration model.

    Default:TSAI

    C++ Type:MooseEnum

    Options:TSAI, ANL_CONSERVATIVE, ANL_LS, CUSTOM

    Controllable:No

    Description:The liquid penetration model.

  • temperatureThe coupled temperature (K)

    C++ Type:std::vector<VariableName>

    Unit:(no unit assumed)

    Controllable:No

    Description:The coupled temperature (K)

Required Parameters

  • AOptional user provided coefficient (must work with CUSTOM 'liquid_penetration_model')

    C++ Type:double

    Unit:(no unit assumed)

    Controllable:No

    Description:Optional user provided coefficient (must work with CUSTOM 'liquid_penetration_model')

  • QROptional user provided activation energy parameter (K) (must work with CUSTOM 'liquid_penetration_model')

    C++ Type:double

    Unit:(no unit assumed)

    Controllable:No

    Description:Optional user provided activation energy parameter (K) (must work with CUSTOM 'liquid_penetration_model')

  • blockThe list of blocks (ids or names) that this object will be applied

    C++ Type:std::vector<SubdomainName>

    Controllable:No

    Description:The list of blocks (ids or names) that this object will be applied

  • boundaryThe list of boundaries (ids or names) from the mesh where this object applies

    C++ Type:std::vector<BoundaryName>

    Controllable:No

    Description:The list of boundaries (ids or names) from the mesh where this object applies

  • burnupBurnup material name (only required by ANL_LS and ANL_CONSERVATIVE 'liquid_penetration_model' and INTRINSIC 'fuel_melting_model' with PU_19 'fuel_pu')

    C++ Type:MaterialPropertyName

    Unit:(no unit assumed)

    Controllable:No

    Description:Burnup material name (only required by ANL_LS and ANL_CONSERVATIVE 'liquid_penetration_model' and INTRINSIC 'fuel_melting_model' with PU_19 'fuel_pu')

  • calculate_fuel_melting_thicknessFalseWhether to calculate the thickness of the fuel that has melted.

    Default:False

    C++ Type:bool

    Controllable:No

    Description:Whether to calculate the thickness of the fuel that has melted.

  • cladding_inner_radiusInner radius of the cladding.

    C++ Type:double

    Unit:(no unit assumed)

    Controllable:No

    Description:Inner radius of the cladding.

  • computeTrueWhen false, MOOSE will not call compute methods on this material. The user must call computeProperties() after retrieving the MaterialBase via MaterialBasePropertyInterface::getMaterialBase(). Non-computed MaterialBases are not sorted for dependencies.

    Default:True

    C++ Type:bool

    Controllable:No

    Description:When false, MOOSE will not call compute methods on this material. The user must call computeProperties() after retrieving the MaterialBase via MaterialBasePropertyInterface::getMaterialBase(). Non-computed MaterialBases are not sorted for dependencies.

  • constant_onNONEWhen ELEMENT, MOOSE will only call computeQpProperties() for the 0th quadrature point, and then copy that value to the other qps.When SUBDOMAIN, MOOSE will only call computeQpProperties() for the 0th quadrature point, and then copy that value to the other qps. Evaluations on element qps will be skipped

    Default:NONE

    C++ Type:MooseEnum

    Options:NONE, ELEMENT, SUBDOMAIN

    Controllable:No

    Description:When ELEMENT, MOOSE will only call computeQpProperties() for the 0th quadrature point, and then copy that value to the other qps.When SUBDOMAIN, MOOSE will only call computeQpProperties() for the 0th quadrature point, and then copy that value to the other qps. Evaluations on element qps will be skipped

  • declare_suffixAn optional suffix parameter that can be appended to any declared properties. The suffix will be prepended with a '_' character.

    C++ Type:MaterialPropertyName

    Unit:(no unit assumed)

    Controllable:No

    Description:An optional suffix parameter that can be appended to any declared properties. The suffix will be prepended with a '_' character.

  • fuel_bottom_positionThe axial position of the bottom of the fuel slug.

    C++ Type:double

    Unit:(no unit assumed)

    Controllable:No

    Description:The axial position of the bottom of the fuel slug.

  • fuel_elongation_ppName of the Postprocessor that tracks fuel elongation.

    C++ Type:PostprocessorName

    Unit:(no unit assumed)

    Controllable:No

    Description:Name of the Postprocessor that tracks fuel elongation.

  • fuel_heightThe height (axial length) of the fuel slug to be added to the slug bottom position to get the top axial position of the fuel.

    C++ Type:double

    Unit:(no unit assumed)

    Controllable:No

    Description:The height (axial length) of the fuel slug to be added to the slug bottom position to get the top axial position of the fuel.

  • fuel_to_cladding_melting_ratio3.94Volume ratio of molten fuel to molten cladding.

    Default:3.94

    C++ Type:double

    Unit:(no unit assumed)

    Controllable:No

    Description:Volume ratio of molten fuel to molten cladding.

  • mesh_generatorThe name of the generator to use as the prefix for mesh meta data about pin geometry parameters.

    C++ Type:MeshGeneratorName

    Controllable:No

    Description:The name of the generator to use as the prefix for mesh meta data about pin geometry parameters.

  • onset_temperatureOptional user provided onset temperature (K) (must work with TSAI or CUSTOM 'liquid_penetration_model')

    C++ Type:double

    Unit:(no unit assumed)

    Controllable:No

    Description:Optional user provided onset temperature (K) (must work with TSAI or CUSTOM 'liquid_penetration_model')

Optional Parameters

  • control_tagsAdds user-defined labels for accessing object parameters via control logic.

    C++ Type:std::vector<std::string>

    Controllable:No

    Description:Adds user-defined labels for accessing object parameters via control logic.

  • enableTrueSet the enabled status of the MooseObject.

    Default:True

    C++ Type:bool

    Controllable:Yes

    Description:Set the enabled status of the MooseObject.

  • implicitTrueDetermines whether this object is calculated using an implicit or explicit form

    Default:True

    C++ Type:bool

    Controllable:No

    Description:Determines whether this object is calculated using an implicit or explicit form

  • seed0The seed for the master random number generator

    Default:0

    C++ Type:unsigned int

    Controllable:No

    Description:The seed for the master random number generator

  • use_displaced_meshFalseWhether or not this object should use the displaced mesh for computation. Note that in the case this is true but no displacements are provided in the Mesh block the undisplaced mesh will still be used.

    Default:False

    C++ Type:bool

    Controllable:No

    Description:Whether or not this object should use the displaced mesh for computation. Note that in the case this is true but no displacements are provided in the Mesh block the undisplaced mesh will still be used.

Advanced Parameters

  • output_propertiesList of material properties, from this material, to output (outputs must also be defined to an output type)

    C++ Type:std::vector<std::string>

    Controllable:No

    Description:List of material properties, from this material, to output (outputs must also be defined to an output type)

  • outputsnone Vector of output names where you would like to restrict the output of variables(s) associated with this object

    Default:none

    C++ Type:std::vector<OutputName>

    Controllable:No

    Description:Vector of output names where you would like to restrict the output of variables(s) associated with this object

Outputs Parameters

  • prop_getter_suffixAn optional suffix parameter that can be appended to any attempt to retrieve/get material properties. The suffix will be prepended with a '_' character.

    C++ Type:MaterialPropertyName

    Unit:(no unit assumed)

    Controllable:No

    Description:An optional suffix parameter that can be appended to any attempt to retrieve/get material properties. The suffix will be prepended with a '_' character.

  • use_interpolated_stateFalseFor the old and older state use projected material properties interpolated at the quadrature points. To set up projection use the ProjectedStatefulMaterialStorageAction.

    Default:False

    C++ Type:bool

    Controllable:No

    Description:For the old and older state use projected material properties interpolated at the quadrature points. To set up projection use the ProjectedStatefulMaterialStorageAction.

Material Property Retrieval Parameters

Input Files

References

  1. Y. Miao, A. Oaks, S. Shu, A. Yacout, C. Matthews, and S. Novascone. Metallic fuel liquid cladding penetration and fuel liquefication models evaluation based on comprehensive out-of-pile transient assessment case in BISON. Technical Report in preparation, Argonne National Laboratory, 2024.[BibTeX]
  2. S. Shu, Y. Miao, A. Oaks, K. Mo, C. Tomchik, and A. M. Yacout. Improved correlations of the fuel/cladding liquid penetration rate with the out-of-pile transient database. Nuclear Engineering and Design, 417:112819, 2024.[BibTeX]
  3. Hanchung Tsai. Fuel/cladding compatibility in irradiated metallic fuel pins at elevated temperatures. In 1990 International Fast Reactor Safety Meeting. August 12-16 1990.[BibTeX]