Multiphysics fuel performance modeling of dispersed TRISO-coated particle fuel plate under long-time normal condition and accident conditions

TRISO-coated nuclear fuel has been extensively studied these decades due to the reliable accident tolerance performance. Based on the ABAQUS implicit finite element solver, the thermal-mechanical coupled simulations of the TRISO-particles embedded plate fuel were carried out. Multi-physical effects were incorporated into the simulation, including the plastic deformation, irradiation swelling, creep and gap heat transfer. Results show that the dispersed TRISO-coated particle fuel plate has robust thermal-mechanical performance under long-time normal condition. The maximum fuel temperature is 668 K and the cumulative failure probability for the SiC layer is 1.85 x 10-4. Under reactivity insertion accident and loss of coolant accident conditions, this fuel has reliable anti-accident capacities due to TRISO layer's protection. Additionally, the porosity effect on thermo-mechanical performance of this fuel was analyzed.