Modification of TRANSURANUS fuel performance code in the ATF framework

Abstract

The standard fuel system based on UO2–zirconium alloy has been utilized on nearly 90% of worldwide nuclear power light water reactors. After the Fukushima Daiichi accident, alternative cladding materials to zirconium-based alloys are being investigated in the framework of accident tolerance fuel (ATF) program. One of the concepts of ATF is related to cladding materials that could delay the onset of high temperature oxidation, as well as ballooning and burst, in order to improve reactor safety systems, and consequently increase the coping time for the reactor operators in accident condition, especially under Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) scenario. The ferritic iron-chromium-aluminum (FeCrAl) alloys have been identified as an alternative to replace current zirconium-based alloys based on its outstanding resistance to oxidation under superheated steam environment due to the development of alumina oxide on the alloy surface in case of LOCA; moreover, FeCrAl alloys present quite well performance under normal operation conditions due to the thin oxide rich in chromium that acts as a protective layer. The assessment and performance of new fuel systems rely on experimental irradiation program and fuel performance code simulation, therefore the aim of this work is to contribute to the computational modeling capabilities in the framework of the ATF concept. The well-known TRANSURANUS fuel performance code that is used by safety authorities, industries, laboratories, research centers and universities was modified in order to support FeCrAl alloy as cladding material. The modification of the TRANSURANUS code was based on existing data (material properties) from open literature and as verification process was performed considering LOCA accident scenario.