Stand-alone modelling of the high burnup structure formation and burst release during design basis accidents

In the first part of the paper, experimental results for the Xe depletion in the matrix of high burn-up fuel are analysed from the High Burnup Rim Project (HBRP). The influence of the burn-up and irradiation temperature on the Xe concentration was investigated using a multi-physics approach involving various simulation tools. The temperature influence was accounted for by means of the temperature dependent effective burn-up. Good agreement was found between the modelled temperature threshold of the effective burn-up and the experimental temperature threshold between un- and restructured fuel in the HBRP. However, a systematic difference was observed between the onset burn-up derived from the Xe measurements in highly enriched discs such as those of HBRP and the corresponding values derived from irradiated Light Water Reactor fuel rods and reported in the open literature. A sensitivity study identified the neutron flux spectrum and the fission product yields as the main reasons for the observed differences. In the second part of the paper, we present a new model for dealing with release of fission gas from nuclear fuel containing a high burnup structure (HBS) during design basis accidents such as loss of coolant accident. The fission gas release from the HBS during an accident is assumed to be caused by crack formation that enables some gas to be removed from the HBS pores via a tunnel network that is represented by a gaseous flow through a fine tube. The model is developed on the basis of out-of-pile annealing tests carried out with samples from HBRP discs irradiated in Halden, and then subsequently applied to an integral in-pile test in IFA-650. In addition to the comparison with the experimental data, the new model is also compared with some models available in the open literature. Finally, from the discussion we also outline the experimental and modelling work needed to further refine the model in order to better account for local stress resulting from constraint as well as the heating rate.JRC.E.3-Materials researc