Abstract
Transport mechanisms, such as mass and heat transfer, are critical to the efficiency and the reliability of nuclear fuels such as uranium oxide. These properties can be significantly affected by the microstructure of materials. This paper looks into the effects of grain boundary (GB) Kapitza resistance on the overall thermal conductivity and fission gas transport of UO2 using a 3-D finite element model with microstructurally explicit information. The model developed is created with a reconstruction of the microstructure of depleted uranium samples performed using serial sectioning techniques with Focused Ion Beam (FIB) and Electron Backscattering Diffraction (EBSD). The properties of these microstructural entities are characterized by misorientation angles and Coincident Site Lattice (CSL) models, which provide a framework to assign spatially dependent thermal and mass transfer properties based on the location and connectivity of these entities in actual microstructures. The key feature of this model is the coupling between heat transfer and mass transfer of fission products which makes it a multi-physics model capable of following the evolution of thermal performance as fission products are produced.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
J.K. Fink, Thermophysical properties of uranium dioxide. Journal of Nuclear Materials 279 (2000) 1–18.
D.R. Olander, P. Van Uffelen, On the role of grain boundary diffusion in fission gas release. Journal of Nuclear Materials 288 (2001) 137–147.
H.C. Lim, K. Rudman, K. Krishnan, R. McDonald, P. Peralta, P. Dickerson, D. Byler, C. Stanek, K.J. McClellan, Microstructural Effects on Thermal Conductivity of Uranium Oxide: A 3-D Multi-Physics Simulation, in: ASME (Ed.), ASME 2013 International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, ASME, San Diego, California, USA, 2013.
S.R. Phillpot, A. El-Azab, A. Chernatynskiy, J.S. Tulenko, Thermal Conductivity of U02 Fuel: Predicting Fuel Performance from Simulation. JOM 63 (2011) 73–79.
P.G. Lucuta, H. Matzke, I.J. Hastings, A pragmatic approach to modelling thermal conductivity of irradiated UO2 fuel: Review and recommendations. Journal of Nuclear Materials 232 (1996) 166–180.
P.L Kapitza, J Phys (Moscow) (1941) 181.
D. Olander, Fundamental Aspects of Nuclear Reactor Fuel Element, Technical Information Center, Office of Public Affairs Energy Research and Development Administration, United States of America, 1976.
K.R. Pankaj V. Nerikar, Grain Boundaries in Uranium Dioxide: Scanning Electron Microscopy Experiments and Atomistic Simulations. The American Ceramic Society (2011).
P.K. Schelling, S.R. Phillpot, P. Keblinski, - Kapitza conductance and phonon scattering at grain boundaries by simulation. - 95 (2004) - 6091.
Y. Chen, C.A. Schuh, Diffusion on grain boundary networks: Percolation theory and effective medium approximations. Acta Materialia 54 (2006) 4709–4720.
H.C. Lim, K. Rudman, K. Krishnan, R. Mcdonald, P. Dickerson, D. Byler, P. Peralta, C. Stanek, K. Mcclellan, Microstructurally Explicit Simulation of Intergranular Mass Transport in Oxide Nuclear Fuels. Nuclear Technology (2013).
P.C. Millett, Percolation on grain boundary networks: Application to fission gas release in nuclear fuels. Computational materials science 53 (2012) 31–36.
D.S. Smith, S. Grandjean, J. Absi, S. Kadiebu, S. Fayette, Grain-boundary thermal resistance in polycrystalline oxides: alumina, tin oxide, and magnesia. High Temperatures-High Pressures 35–6 (2003) 93–99.
H.-S. Yang, G.R. Bai, L.J. Thompson, J.A. Eastman, Interfacial thermal resistance in nanocrystalline yttria-stabilized zirconia. Acta Materialia 50 (2002) 2309–2317.
K. Chockalingam, P.C. Millett, M.R. Tonks, Effects of intergranular gas bubbles on thermal conductivity. Journal of Nuclear Materials 430 (2012) 166–170.
P.C. Millett, M. Tonks, Meso-scale modeling of the influence of intergranular gas bubbles on effective thermal conductivity. Journal of Nuclear Materials 412 (2011) 281–286.
P.G. Shewmon, Diffusion in solids, McGraw, New York, 1963.
COMSOL Multiphysics User’s Guide, 2011.
D. Davies, G. Long, H.B.E. United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. Research Group. Atomic Energy Research Establishment, THE EMISSION OF XENON-133 FROM LIGHTLY IRRADIATED URANIUM DIOXIDE SPHEROIDS AND POWDERS, United Kingdom, 1963.
P.C. Millett, M.R. Tonks, K. Chockalingam, Y. Zhang, S.B. Biner, Three dimensional calculations of the effective Kapitza resistance of U02 grain boundaries containing intergranular bubbles. Journal of Nuclear Materials 439 (2013) 117–122.
K. Forsberg, A.R. Massih, Diffusion theory of fission gas migration in irradiated nuclear fuel U02. Journal of Nuclear Materials 135 (1985) 140–148.
M.R. Tonks, P.C. Millett, P. Nerikar, S. Du, D. Andersson, CR. Stanek, D. Gaston, D. Andrs, R. Williamson, Multiscale development of a fission gas thermal conductivity model: Coupling atomic, meso and continuum level simulations. Journal of Nuclear Materials 440 (2013) 193–200.
E. Thornton, Viscosity and Thermal Conductivity of Binary Gas Mixtures: Xenon-Krypton, Xenon-Argon, Xenon-Neon and Xenon-Helium. Proceedings of the Physical Society 76 (1960) 104.
K. Rudman, Three-Dimensional Characterization of Sintered U02+x: Effects of Oxygen Content on Microstructure and Its Evolution. Nuclear Technology (2013).
K. Rudman, P. Dickerson, D. Byler, R. McDonald, H. Lim, P. Peralta, C. Stanek, K. McClellan, THREE-DIMENSIONAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SINTERED UO2+x: EFFECTS OF OXYGEN CONTENT ON MICROSTRUCTURE AND ITS EVOLUTION. Nuclear Technology 182 (2013) 145–154.
Y. Chen, C.A. Schuh, Diffusion on grain boundary networks: Percolation theory and effective medium approximations. Acta mater. 54 (2006) 4709–4720.
H.C. Lim, Microstructural Explicit Simulation of Grain Boundary Diffusion in Depleted U02, School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ USA, 2011, pp. 91.
D. Stauffer, A. Aharony, Introduction to percolation theory, 2nd ed., Taylor & Francis, London ; Washington, D.C, 1992.
Y. Chen, C.A. Schuh, Contribution of triple junctions to the diffusion anomaly in nanocrystalline materials. Scripta Materialia 57 (2007) 253–256.
M. Frary, CA. Schuh, Grain boundary networks: Scaling laws, preferred cluster structure, and their implications for grain boundary engineering. Acta Materialia 53 (2005) 4323–4335.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 TMS (The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society)
About this paper
Cite this paper
Lim, H.C. et al. (2014). Microstructurally Explicit Study of Transport Phenomena in Uranium Oxide. In: TMS 2014: 143rd Annual Meeting & Exhibition. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48237-8_123
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48237-8_123
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-48593-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-48237-8
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)