MCVolumetricSwellingEigenstrain

Model that calculates and sums the change in fuel pellet volume due to densification and fission product release. This class applies a volumetric strain correction before adding the strain from this class to the diagonal entries of the eigenstrain tensor.

Description

The MCVolumetricSwellingEigenstrain material model computes an eigenstrain tensor that accounts for solid and gaseous swelling and for densification in mixed (U,Pu)C (monocarbides). Built into the model is a reduction in total swelling due to hot pressing that occurs in irradiations where the cladding is much stiffer than the fuel, and fission gas bubbles are present in the fuel.

This model uses correlations from Preusser (1982) to compute the swelling increment for UC and (U,Pu)C as a function of burnup: and where is temperature in Celsius, is the porosity, and is given as percent strain per 10 MW-d/kg (which is internally converted to FIMA, but is nearly equal to 1\% FIMA).

The correlations for (U,Pu)C is similar in form the UC, with different coefficients and threshold temperatures: and

For concentrations of plutonium other than 0 or 0.2, a linear correlation is used between and . In addition, the total swelling is computed from the incremental swelling by by the incremental burnup in the given timestep.

The correction factors for porosity and for burnup are where is the contact pressure (MPa) and is the burnup (MW-d/kg). The suggested fit parameters are The burnup correlation is smoothed via the smootherStep function from MathUtils.h.

An upper limit on swelling of for UC and for (U,Pu)C is suggested by Preusser (1982). For concentrations of plutonium other than 0 or 0.2, a linear correlation is used for . The swelling is smoothed up to these maximum values using a smootherStep function.

A temperature correction term is available to modify the input temperature value into the correlations here. Such modifications can be used to use this model for other fuel types that exhibit similar behavior, but different temperature dependence, e.g., nitride fuels.

Example Input Syntax

[Materials<<<{"href": "../../../syntax/Materials/index.html"}>>>]
  [swelling]
    type = ADMCVolumetricSwellingEigenstrain<<<{"description": "Model that calculates and sums the change in fuel pellet volume due to densification and fission product release. This class applies a volumetric strain correction before adding the strain from this class to the diagonal entries of the eigenstrain tensor.", "href": "MCVolumetricSwellingEigenstrain.html"}>>>
    eigenstrain_name<<<{"description": "Material property name for the eigenstrain tensor computed by this model. IMPORTANT: The name of this property must also be provided to the strain calculator."}>>> = swelling
    temperature<<<{"description": "Coupled temperature (K)"}>>> = temp
    porosity<<<{"description": "Porosity material property name."}>>> = porosity
    contact_pressure<<<{"description": "Contact pressure (Pa)"}>>> = layered_side_contact_pressure
    burnup<<<{"description": "burnup material property name"}>>> = burnup
    swelling_scalar<<<{"description": "Scalar multiplied against swelling eigenstrain"}>>> = ${scalar}
    temperature_shift<<<{"description": "Calibration value added to the temperature to swelling expressions for different fuel compositions."}>>> = ${temperature_shift}
    X_Pu_to_An_in_MC<<<{"description": "Relative atom fraction of plutonium to actnidies in mono-carbide phase."}>>> = pu
    outputs<<<{"description": "Vector of output names where you would like to restrict the output of variables(s) associated with this object"}>>> = all
  []
[]
(test/tests/solid_mechanics/mc_volumetric_swelling/exact.i)

The eigenstrain name must also be passed to the strain calculator as shown below:

[Physics<<<{"href": "../../../syntax/Physics/index.html"}>>>]
  [SolidMechanics<<<{"href": "../../../syntax/Physics/SolidMechanics/index.html"}>>>]
    [QuasiStatic<<<{"href": "../../../syntax/Physics/SolidMechanics/QuasiStatic/index.html"}>>>]
      [all]
        strain<<<{"description": "Strain formulation"}>>> = SMALL
        add_variables<<<{"description": "Add the displacement variables"}>>> = true
        eigenstrain_names<<<{"description": "List of eigenstrains to be applied in this strain calculation"}>>> = swelling
        use_automatic_differentiation<<<{"description": "Flag to use automatic differentiation (AD) objects when possible"}>>> = true
      []
    []
  []
[]
(test/tests/solid_mechanics/mc_volumetric_swelling/exact.i)

Input Parameters

  • contact_pressureContact pressure (Pa)

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

    Unit:(no unit assumed)

    Controllable:No

    Description:Contact pressure (Pa)

  • eigenstrain_nameMaterial property name for the eigenstrain tensor computed by this model. IMPORTANT: The name of this property must also be provided to the strain calculator.

    C++ Type:std::string

    Controllable:No

    Description:Material property name for the eigenstrain tensor computed by this model. IMPORTANT: The name of this property must also be provided to the strain calculator.

  • porosityPorosity material property name.

    C++ Type:MaterialPropertyName

    Unit:(no unit assumed)

    Controllable:No

    Description:Porosity material property name.

  • temperatureCoupled temperature (K)

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

    Unit:(no unit assumed)

    Controllable:No

    Description:Coupled temperature (K)

Required Parameters

  • X_Pu_to_An_in_MC0Relative atom fraction of plutonium to actnidies in mono-carbide phase.

    Default:0

    C++ Type:MaterialPropertyName

    Unit:(no unit assumed)

    Controllable:No

    Description:Relative atom fraction of plutonium to actnidies in mono-carbide phase.

  • base_nameOptional parameter that allows the user to define multiple mechanics material systems on the same block, i.e. for multiple phases

    C++ Type:std::string

    Controllable:No

    Description:Optional parameter that allows the user to define multiple mechanics material systems on the same block, i.e. for multiple phases

  • 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

  • burnupburnupburnup material property name

    Default:burnup

    C++ Type:MaterialPropertyName

    Unit:(no unit assumed)

    Controllable:No

    Description:burnup material property name

  • 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.

  • execute_onLINEARThe list of flag(s) indicating when this object should be executed. For a description of each flag, see https://mooseframework.inl.gov/source/interfaces/SetupInterface.html.

    Default:LINEAR

    C++ Type:ExecFlagEnum

    Options:XFEM_MARK, NONE, INITIAL, LINEAR, NONLINEAR_CONVERGENCE, NONLINEAR, POSTCHECK, TIMESTEP_END, TIMESTEP_BEGIN, MULTIAPP_FIXED_POINT_END, MULTIAPP_FIXED_POINT_BEGIN, FINAL, CUSTOM

    Controllable:No

    Description:The list of flag(s) indicating when this object should be executed. For a description of each flag, see https://mooseframework.inl.gov/source/interfaces/SetupInterface.html.

  • swelling_scalar1Scalar multiplied against swelling eigenstrain

    Default:1

    C++ Type:double

    Unit:(no unit assumed)

    Controllable:No

    Description:Scalar multiplied against swelling eigenstrain

  • temperature_shift0Calibration value added to the temperature to swelling expressions for different fuel compositions.

    Default:0

    C++ Type:double

    Unit:(no unit assumed)

    Controllable:No

    Description:Calibration value added to the temperature to swelling expressions for different fuel compositions.

  • value_range_behaviorEXCEPTIONWhat to do if input value is outside the range of applicability.

    Default:EXCEPTION

    C++ Type:MooseEnum

    Options:ERROR, WARN, IGNORE, EXCEPTION

    Controllable:No

    Description:What to do if input value is outside the range of applicability.

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. Timm Preusser. Modeling of carbide fuel rods. Nuclear Technology, 57(3):343–371, 1982. URL: https://doi.org/10.13182/NT82-A26303, arXiv:https://doi.org/10.13182/NT82-A26303, doi:10.13182/NT82-A26303.[BibTeX]