Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
J. A. Yingling, K. A. Gamble, Elwyn Roberts, R. Austin Freeman, Travis W. Knight
Summary: U3Si2-SiC concept fuel shows promise as a replacement for UO2-Zr4 fuels during steady-state operation, but the failure of the mSiC layer generally occurs before significant thermal creep in U3Si2 during low power operation.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Cole Moczygemba, Jonathan George, Eduardo Montoya, Eunja Kim, Geronimo Robles, Elizabeth Sooby
Summary: The research and development of high uranium density fuels is crucial for enhancing reactor technology, safety, performance, and economics. This study explores the performance of U3Si2 fuel alloyed with Zr in high temperature steam oxidation environments, demonstrating delayed onset of oxidation and improved homogeneity.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
R. N. Worth, D. T. Goddard, J. Buckley, R. W. Harrison, H. Liu, J. I. Paul, T. J. Abram
Summary: This study investigates the oxidation behavior of arc melted U(3)Si(2) material using thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) methods. The results show differences in mass gain profile, exothermic heat output, and onset temperature of rapid oxidation between fragments and small powder samples.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
Carlotta G. Ghezzi, Daniel Schappel, Giovanni Pastore, Brian D. Wirth, Nicholas R. Brown
Summary: This study conducted a sensitivity analysis on the failure probability of the SiC layer in TRISO nuclear fuel predicted by the BISON code during transient conditions, focusing on parameters such as Weibull statistics, elastic moduli, and stress. Results indicated that the Weibull modulus and characteristic stress were the most important factors impacting SiC failure probability.
PROGRESS IN NUCLEAR ENERGY
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
M. W. D. Cooper, K. A. Gamble, L. Capolungo, C. Matthews, D. A. Andersson, B. Beeler, C. R. Stanek, K. Metzger
Summary: U3Si2, an advanced fuel candidate with high fissile density and thermal properties, has data gaps in thermophysical and thermomechanical properties. This study used DFT and MD simulations to predict point defect concentrations under irradiation, informing a creep model based on diffusional creep and dislocation creep, which compares well with experimental data and has been implemented in a fuel performance code. Demonstrations show negligible creep in U3Si2 due to its high thermal conductivity at low reactor temperatures.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
K. A. Gamble, G. Pastore, M. W. D. Cooper, D. A. Andersson, C. Matthews, B. Beeler, L. K. Aagesen, T. Barani, D. Pizzocri
Summary: Uranium silicide (U3Si2) is explored as a potential alternative to UO2 fuel in light water reactors (LWRs) due to its higher thermal conductivity and uranium density, which may improve accident tolerance and economics. Research shows significant gaseous swelling of U3Si2 as fuel burnup increases, highlighting the importance of understanding fission gas behavior at higher temperatures in LWR operating conditions. Molecular dynamics and phase-field modeling techniques are used to reduce uncertainty in modeling assumptions for fission gas behavior, with cluster dynamics simulations and MD simulations providing additional insights into Xe diffusion and athermal contributions during ballistic damage cascades.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
Guangliang Yang, Hailong Liao, Tao Ding, Hongli Chen
Summary: This study focuses on the thermal expansion, fission-induced swelling, and interaction layer growth of U3Si2/Al dispersion fuel plates. A detailed model of fuel meat swelling is developed and analyzed using Abaqus software to study its thermal-mechanical performance under normal conditions.
NUCLEAR ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Yuan Yuan, Yanqing Qin, Kai Xu, Yiming Zhang, Qing Huang, Keke Chang, Shiyu Du
Summary: The solubility of metal M in U3Si2 is closely related to the differences in radius and electronegativity between Si and M, as well as the number of intermediate phases in the binary U-M and Si-M systems. Aluminum has the largest solubility in U3Si2 among the elements studied.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
Shengyu Liu, Rong Liu, Chengjie Qiu
Summary: This study investigates the fuel performance of U3Si2-FeCrAl system and compares it with other systems under LOCA and RIA conditions. It is found that the performance of U3Si2 fuel is inferior to UO2 fuel under LOCA condition, and sensitivity analysis of fuel input parameters reveals the main factors affecting fuel performance. Additionally, the study also examines the performance of U3Si2 fuel and FeCrAl cladding under RIA condition due to their low melting point.
PROGRESS IN NUCLEAR ENERGY
(2023)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
Chaoqun Deng, Yanan He, Fengrui Xiang, Yingwei Wu, Jing Zhang, Wenxi Tian, Guanghui Su, Suizheng Qiu
Summary: This study investigates the thermomechanical behaviors of U3Si2-FeCrAl system as a potential accident tolerant fuel candidate. By simulating CABRI-REP tests and comparing with other systems, it is found that U3Si2-FeCrAl system can increase fuel temperature and delay gap closure during normal operation, but poses a threat to fuel central temperature under RIA conditions.
PROGRESS IN NUCLEAR ENERGY
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Boshu Jiang, Bachirou Guene Lougou, Hao Zhang, Boxi Geng, Lianxuan Wu, Yong Shuai
Summary: This study developed NiFe2O4 oxygen carriers and SiC/Si3N4 supports for solar-driven CO2-to-CO conversion. The newly synthesized NiFe2O4@SiC porous redox material exhibited higher solar energy absorption and CO2 conversion capability, as well as high thermal stability and cyclic stability.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Wen Jiang, Jason D. Hales, Benjamin W. Spencer, Blaise P. Collin, Andrew E. Slaughter, Stephen R. Novascone, Aysenur Toptan, Kyle A. Gamble, Russell Gardner
Summary: The BISON fuel performance code has been enhanced to accurately simulate TRISO fuel performance by developing various material models and statistical analysis capabilities. The models have been tested and validated against experimental data, including the AGR-2 and AGR-5/6/7 experiments.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Yun Wang, Yi Zhong, Bin Su, Wenyuan Wang, Chao Lu, Libing Yu, Mingfu Chu, Rui Gao, Zhenliang Yang, Bingqing Li, Xiaobo Yang, Pengcheng Zhang
Summary: The U3Si2-UO2 composite fuel combines the high uranium density and thermal conductivity of U3Si2 with the excellent stability of UO2 under LWR condition. Spark plasma sintering (SPS) is a convenient method to produce U3Si2-UO2 composite fuel, but the potential interaction between U3Si2 and UO2 has not been sufficiently investigated. This study examined the interaction between U3Si2 and UO2 during the SPS sintering process using XRD, OM, SEM, and TEM. The results showed that U3Si2 and UO2 reacted to yield USi as the main product at a relatively low temperature of 1100 degrees C, when the composite fuel was less than 90% TD.
CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Soon K. Lee, Nathan A. Capps, Nicholas R. Brown
Summary: The BISON fuel performance analysis code has been utilized to investigate the deformation behavior of FeCrAl and Zircaloy cladding in boiling water reactors under conditions caused by anticipated operational occurrences (AOOs) or anticipated transients without scram (ATWS). The code successfully predicted mechanical responses to thermal cycling boundary conditions in separate effects tests simulating ATWS events. The capability of the BISON code for modeling BWR AOO or ATWS events shows promise.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Bowen Gong, Erofili Kardoulaki, Kun Yang, Andre Broussard, Dong Zhao, Kathryn Metzger, Joshua T. White, Michael R. Sivack, Kenneth J. Mcclellan, Edward J. Lahoda, Jie Lian
Summary: The synthesis of UN-U3Si2 composites using spark plasma sintering has effectively reduced micro-crack formation, leading to high-density fuel pellets with uniform distribution of phases. These composites exhibit enhanced strength, fracture toughness, and excellent thermal conductivity, showing potential for improving fuel properties compared to monolithic UN.
CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Wei Li, Koroush Shirvan, Shay Harrison, Joseph Pegna
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Arunkumar Seshadri, Eric C. Forrest, Koroush Shirvan
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
(2020)
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
R. Patrick White, Koroush Shirvan
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON PLASMA SCIENCE
(2020)
Article
Materials Science, Ceramics
Wei Li, Koroush Shirvan
Summary: This work presents a phase-field modeling approach for quasi-static cracking in UO2 ceramic nuclear fuel under neutron radiation at high temperatures, considering tightly coupled multi-physics processes. It includes diffusion, thermal and fracture models, taking into account temperature and irradiation effects, and is applied to simulate fuel pellet cracking during reactor operation, startup, power ramp, and shutdown. The study highlights the importance of UO2 creep in fuel pellet fragmentation and its potential for guiding material design of ceramic nuclear fuels.
CERAMICS INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Michael W. D. Cooper, Giovanni Pastore, Yifeng Che, Christopher Matthews, Axel Forslund, Christopher R. Stanek, Koroush Shirvan, Terje Tverberg, Kyle A. Gamble, Brian Mays, David A. Andersson
Summary: The study focuses on the enhanced fission gas diffusivity in Cr2O3-doped UO2 pellets, showing that doping results in increased uranium and oxygen vacancies, leading to improved fission gas release suppression. The new physics-informed model was validated against in-reactor experimental measurements and demonstrated noticeable improvements over the standard UO2 behavior in fission gas release.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Ekaterina Ryabikovskaya, Aaron French, Adam Gabriel, Hyosim Kim, Tianyao Wang, Koroush Shirvan, Frank A. Garner, Lin Shao
Summary: Pure chromium was irradiated with Fe ions at different temperatures and peak dpa levels, showing varying swelling behavior. However, the swelling rate was found to be relatively low, insensitive to dpa rate, and with an incubation period. Self-organization in the form of void ordering was observed, with the void alignment direction determined to be the (111) axial direction.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
J. Hazan, A. Gauthier, E. Pouillier, K. Shirvan
Summary: Research has shown that cold-spray chromium coated zircaloy claddings can reduce ballooning and burst while increasing burst temperature in high temperature conditions. However, these tests demonstrate limited benefits in post-quench behavior of coated specimens in the last stage of a prototypical LOCA scenario.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
Majdi Radaideh, Isaac Wolverton, Joshua Joseph, James J. Tusar, Uuganbayar Otgonbaatar, Nicholas Roy, Benoit Forget, Koroush Shirvan
Summary: The study explores the effectiveness of reinforcement learning algorithms in optimizing nuclear fuel assemblies. By embedding expert knowledge and effectively exploring the search space, RL outperforms stochastic optimization algorithms in solving high-dimensional problems. This method demonstrates RL's potential as a decision support tool for nuclear fuel assembly optimization, providing more feasible patterns and increased search speed.
NUCLEAR ENGINEERING AND DESIGN
(2021)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
Yifeng Che, Xu Wu, Giovanni Pastore, Wei Li, Koroush Shirvan
Summary: This study focuses on microstructural modification of UO2 fuel via dopants to improve the overall nuclear fuel performance. The research utilizes PCA for dimensionality reduction and Kriging as a metamodel of BISON to reduce computing cost. A low-cost nonintrusive Bayesian calibration approach, Variational Bayesian Monte Carlo (VBMC), is demonstrated to be more efficient than conventional statistical Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling.
ANNALS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Arunkumar Seshadri, Bren Philips, Akshay J. Dave, Shay Harrison, Joseph Pegna, Koroush Shirvan
Summary: This study introduces the microstructure and mechanical properties of SiC fibers prepared by Laser Chemical Vapor Deposition (LCVD), compares the hydrothermal corrosion of different stoichiometric SiC fibers, and concludes that the dissolution of the SiC fibers under radiation and high-temperature, high-pressure conditions depends on factors such as stoichiometric ratio.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Majdi Radaideh, Koroush Shirvan
Summary: In this study, a rule-based RL method is proposed to guide evolutionary algorithms in constrained optimization, showing significant improvement in continuous optimization over standalone algorithms. RL-guided EA outperforms standalone algorithms by more than 10 times in exploration capabilities and computational efficiency, indicating the effectiveness of RL in focusing the search space in areas where expert knowledge has merit.
KNOWLEDGE-BASED SYSTEMS
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
W. R. Stewart, K. Shirvan
Summary: The FOAK nuclear plants built in the last 20 years have experienced budget and schedule overruns. The small modular reactor (SMR) is proposed as a remedy, showcasing economic competitiveness through multiple units, increased factory production, reduced construction schedules, plant design simplification, and unit timing. A bottom-up study comparing near-term light water reactor SMRs with Gen III+ large plants has not been conducted. This work presents a cost estimating methodology using a detailed bottom-up approach for over 200 structures, systems, and components of nuclear plants.
RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
Yeongshin Jeong, Koroush Shirvan, Michael Buric
Summary: This work establishes a generic multiphysics tool for liquid-fueled molten salt reactors (LFMSRs) and applies it to a reference design. It investigates the dynamic and thermal responses of the reactor during operational transients and suggests the use of continuous temperature monitoring with fiber optics to improve safety.
NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Arunkumar Seshadri, Koroush Shirvan
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
W. Robb Stewart, Koroush Shirvan
Summary: Capital cost and construction schedule estimates for nuclear projects often underestimate realized costs upon project completion. This paper explores the risk of different construction delay drivers and their impact on total installed cost for various reactor architectures. The study shows significant risk of cost overrun and schedule delays, with multi-module plants being the most susceptible to construction delays and small modular BWRs being the least susceptible. Design changes and productivity hits are identified as the primary drivers of construction delays.
NUCLEAR ENGINEERING AND DESIGN
(2023)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
Kecheng Jiang, Jinzhao Yang, Xueli Zhao, Lei Chen, Fujun Gou, Songlin Liu
Summary: The blanket, as a key component of the fusion reactor, plays important roles in breeding tritium, shielding neutrons, and extracting thermal energy for electricity generation. Understanding the characteristics of gas-liquid two-phase flow and mass transfer is essential for optimizing the design of tritium extraction units in the blanket.
ANNALS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
(2024)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
Anna-Elina Pasi, Teemu Karkela, Fredrik Borjesson Sanden, Unto Tapper, Tuula Kajolinna, Christian Ekberg
Summary: This study investigates the gas-phase interactions between tellurium and organic material under severe nuclear accident conditions. The results show that there is interaction between tellurium aerosols and organic material, leading to an increase in the gaseous fraction and changes in XPS spectra. Although the exact species are not identified, these findings raise questions about the behavior of tellurium and its reactions with organic material in severe accident conditions.
ANNALS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
(2024)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
Ao Zhang, Qingye Li, Chaoyong Zong, Fuwen Liu, Tianhang Xue, Jian Xiao, Xueguan Song
Summary: In this study, a high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics model was established to investigate the flow characteristics of a novel balanced globe valve. The study found that the size of the throttle orifice and valve disc displacement have a significant impact on fluid force. The findings provide a basis for the design and dynamic control of globe valves, and also have potential value for energy utilization.
ANNALS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
(2024)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
Wenbo Li, Yunqing Bai, Shuai Zhang, Yang Li, Ming Jin, Chunjing Li
Summary: In this study, a 3D-CFD model based on the SUPERCAVNA facility was established to analyze thermal stratification in liquid-metal-cooled nuclear reactors. The results show that the SKE model is the most accurate in predicting temperature distribution, and further parametric studies were conducted.
ANNALS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
(2024)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
Song Jin, Di Jiang, Dongmei Wang, Shaojie Wang, Zhen Wang
Summary: This study presents the fragility evaluation of a nuclear containment structure subjected to earthquake and subsequent internal pressure sequence. Nonlinear finite element model and ground motion records are used to analyze the nonlinear response and fragility of the structure. Results show that the distribution of maximum strain and displacement of the structure under earthquake and subsequent pressure are significantly different, with displacement distribution related to ground motion intensity levels.
ANNALS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
(2024)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
Kazumasa Shimada, Tatsuya Sakurahara, Pegah Farshadmanesh, Seyed Reihani, Zahra Mohaghegh
Summary: This research improves the realism of Level 3 probabilistic risk assessment for nuclear power plants by modeling the evacuation behavior of residents and incorporating two advancements. The first advancement uses evacuation speed from a transportation simulation code as input to the Level 3 PRA code, enabling explicit incorporation of spatiotemporal evacuation processes. The second advancement incorporates the probability of seismic damage to roadway bridges into Level 3 PRA and calculates evacuation routes and speeds considering the impact of seismic damage.
ANNALS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
(2024)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
F. Mascari, A. Bersano, M. Massone, G. Agnello, O. Coindreau, S. Beck, L. Tiborcz, S. Paci, M. Angelucci, L. E. Herranz, R. Bocanegra, Y. Pontillon, M. Berdai, O. Cherednichenko, A. Iskra, M. Nudi, P. Groudev, P. Petrova, F. Kretzschmar, F. Gabrielli, Z. Kanglong, V. Vileiniskis, T. Kaliatka, J. Kalilainen, M. Malicki, D. Gumenyuk, Y. Vorobyov, O. Kotsuba, P. Dejardin, M. Di Giuli, R. Thomas, I. V. Ivanov, F. Giannetti, M. D'Onorio, G. Caruso, M. Salay, T. Sevon
Summary: The MUSA project aims to analyze uncertainties and sensitivities associated with severe accidents using a harmonized approach, particularly focusing on source term figures of merit. The project applied and tested uncertainty quantification methodologies using the PHEBUS FPT1 test. The study found that scripting for coupling SA codes and uncertainty tools can increase flexibility, and careful consideration should be given to selecting the input uncertain parameters.
ANNALS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
(2024)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
Ian Greenquist, Nathan Capps
Summary: The US nuclear energy industry is investigating strategies to increase reactor operating cycle to 24 months. Multiphysics simulations tools and methodologies are being developed to predict the effects of this change during transient events such as loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs).
ANNALS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
(2024)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
Guangchun Zhang, Hu Zhang
Summary: In this study, a neutron transport code called TARS is introduced, which is based on the discrete-ordinates discontinuous finite element method. TARS provides accurate and efficient solutions to the neutron transport equation, addressing existing challenges in the field. The evaluation results demonstrate that TARS generates highly accurate solutions and achieves high parallel computation efficiency.
ANNALS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
(2024)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
J. R. Daniels, M. M. R. Williams, M. D. Eaton
Summary: This paper presents the development and verification of a collision probability (CP) code for neutron transport in slabs and cylinders. The CP code is particularly useful for modelling layered systems of aqueous and organic plutonium nitrate. The code provides a computationally inexpensive alternative to higher fidelity codes like MCNP. It is effective for slab geometries with at least 0.7 g cm-2 plutonium, but its approximation for heterogeneous cylinders can lead to overestimation of neutron leakage. Increasing the cylinder radius to 40.0 cm improves the accuracy for systems with at least 2.75 kg plutonium. However, the code's accuracy decreases when modelling cylindrical geometries with dished ends and low plutonium content.
ANNALS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
(2024)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
Alexander A. Ryzhkov, Georgy V. Tikhomirov, Mikhail Yu. Ternovykh
Summary: This paper analyzes the impact of nuclear data uncertainties on the safety of advanced reactors, with a specific focus on angular distribution uncertainties. Through sensitivity and uncertainty analysis, key parameters for MOX3600 are identified, and a comparison of different libraries' uncertainties on the eigenvalue is performed.
ANNALS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
(2024)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
Y. Fontenla, A. Vidal-Ferrandiz, A. Carreno, D. Ginestar, G. Verdu
Summary: FEMFFUSION is an open source code that solves the multigroup neutron transport equation using the diffusion and the SPN approximations. It uses the finite element method to handle various geometries and problem dimensions, and has been verified against the C5G7 benchmark.
ANNALS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
(2024)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
J. Tyler Gates, Pavel V. Tsvetkov
Summary: The Optical Fiber Based Gamma Thermometer utilizes optical fiber as a distributed temperature sensor to measure the temperature of a thermal mass undergoing gamma heating and calculate the gamma flux data. This technology shows promise in determining the local power density within a nuclear reactor core and provides an unparalleled level of precision in reactor power measurement.
ANNALS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
(2024)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
A. de Lara, A. Schubert, E. Shwageraus, P. Van Uffelen
Summary: This study presents a new methodology to derive the radial form factor in the TRANSURANUS burnup model using simulations. The proposed methodology can be applied to different types of reactors, including LWRs and HWRs, and is suitable for advanced technology fuels.
ANNALS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
(2024)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
A. Bousbia Salah, M. Di Giuli, P. Foucaud, R. Iglesias, A. Malkhasyan, M. Salmaoui, L. E. Herranz
Summary: In the framework of the R2CA project, the application of advanced codes for evaluating radiological release under design basis accidents was considered. The study focused on a specific scenario and assessed the results obtained by different organizations using different computational tools and approaches. The outcomes highlighted modeling differences and challenges in carrying out such analysis.
ANNALS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
(2024)