Materials in a high radiation environment (such as a reactor) can undergo unique behaviors such as swelling [4] and non-thermal creep. If there are nuclear reactions within the material (such as what happens in the fuel), the stoichiometry will also change slowly over time. These behaviors can lead to new material properties, cracking, and fission gas release:
* Fission gas release
o As the fuel is degraded or heated the more volatile fission products which are trapped within the uranium dioxide may become free. For example see J.Y. Colle, J.P. Hiernaut, D. Papaioannou, C. Ronchi, A. Sasahara, Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2006, 348, 229.
* Fuel cracking
o As the fuel expands on heating, the core of the pellet expands more than the rim which may lead to cracking. Because of the thermal stress thus formed the fuel cracks, the cracks tend to go from the center to the edge in a star-shaped pattern.
In order to better understand and control these changes in materials, these behaviors are studied. A common experiment to do this is post irradiation examination, in which fuel will be examined after it is put through reactor-like conditions [5][6] [7] [8]. Due to the intensely radioactive nature of the used fuel this is done in a hot cell. A combination of nondestructive and destructive methods of PIE are common.
The PIE is used to check that the fuel is both safe and effective. After major accidents, the core is normally subject to PIE in order to find out what happened. One site where PIE is done is the ITU which is the EU center for the study of highly radioactive materials.
In addition to the effects of radiation and the fission products on materials, scientists also need to consider the temperature of materials in a reactor, and in particular, the fuel. Too high a fuel temperature can compromise the fuel, and therefore it is important to control the temperature in order to control the fission chain reaction.
The temperature of the fuel varies as a function of the distance from the center to the rim. At distance x from the center the temperature (Tx) is described by the equation where ρ is the power density (W m−3) and Kf is the thermal conductivity.
Tx = TRim + ρ (rpellet2 - x2) (4 Kf)-1
To explain this for a series of fuel pellets being used with a rim temperature of 200 °C (typical for a BWR) with different diameters and power densities of 250 MW·m−3 have been modeled using the above equation. Note that these fuel pellets are rather large; it is normal to use oxide pellets which are about 10 mm in diameter.
* Fission gas release
o As the fuel is degraded or heated the more volatile fission products which are trapped within the uranium dioxide may become free. For example see J.Y. Colle, J.P. Hiernaut, D. Papaioannou, C. Ronchi, A. Sasahara, Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2006, 348, 229.
* Fuel cracking
o As the fuel expands on heating, the core of the pellet expands more than the rim which may lead to cracking. Because of the thermal stress thus formed the fuel cracks, the cracks tend to go from the center to the edge in a star-shaped pattern.
In order to better understand and control these changes in materials, these behaviors are studied. A common experiment to do this is post irradiation examination, in which fuel will be examined after it is put through reactor-like conditions [5][6] [7] [8]. Due to the intensely radioactive nature of the used fuel this is done in a hot cell. A combination of nondestructive and destructive methods of PIE are common.
The PIE is used to check that the fuel is both safe and effective. After major accidents, the core is normally subject to PIE in order to find out what happened. One site where PIE is done is the ITU which is the EU center for the study of highly radioactive materials.
In addition to the effects of radiation and the fission products on materials, scientists also need to consider the temperature of materials in a reactor, and in particular, the fuel. Too high a fuel temperature can compromise the fuel, and therefore it is important to control the temperature in order to control the fission chain reaction.
The temperature of the fuel varies as a function of the distance from the center to the rim. At distance x from the center the temperature (Tx) is described by the equation where ρ is the power density (W m−3) and Kf is the thermal conductivity.
Tx = TRim + ρ (rpellet2 - x2) (4 Kf)-1
To explain this for a series of fuel pellets being used with a rim temperature of 200 °C (typical for a BWR) with different diameters and power densities of 250 MW·m−3 have been modeled using the above equation. Note that these fuel pellets are rather large; it is normal to use oxide pellets which are about 10 mm in diameter.
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