Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2024

Numerical and experimental simulation of nuclear fuel fragmentation via laser heating of ceramics

Résumé

In normal operating conditions of light water reactors (LWRs), fuel pellets exhibit cracks from the first reactor startup, resulting from thermal stresses induced by radial temperature gradients within the pellets, while the axial temperature gradient is negligible. The unique characteristic of nuclear fuel to generate its own heat through fission reaction complicates the experimental simulation of its thermomechanical conditions via external heating with non-fissile materials, as the thermal gradient would then be in the wrong direction. Internal heating methods exist, but involve damaging the sample to place a central heating element. A challenge in the experimental realm is therefore to replicate this thermal gradient without involving nuclear fission or damaging the fuel, in order to experimentally reproduce a network of cracks of LWR irradiated fuel. To address this, we propose a non-damaging heating method within the volume of an inert clad ceramic via laser thermal treatment, inducing a radial thermal gradient in a cylindrical pellet. To do so, an experimental campaign was designed by simulating and performing laser heat treatments on inert ceramics to identify material properties and laser parameters necessary for replicating the thermomechanical loadings of a nuclear system under irradiation. Our simulations, coupled with initial low-power laser heating, predict reaching reactors conditions, thus inducing thermoelastic stresses and cracks in the material similar to reactor fuel state in a highly reproducible experimental setup.

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Dates et versions

hal-05519691 , version 1 (19-02-2026)

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  • HAL Id : hal-05519691 , version 1

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H Fuentes, C Colin, A Socie, T Doualle, C Cifuentes, et al.. Numerical and experimental simulation of nuclear fuel fragmentation via laser heating of ceramics. Top Fuel 2024, 2024, Grenoble, France. ⟨hal-05519691⟩
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