Analysis on split failure of cladding of high burnup BWR rods in reactivity-initiated accident conditions by RANNS code

Suzuki, Motoe; Saito, Hiroaki*; Fuketa, Toyoshi

A computer code RANNS was developed to analyze fuel rod behaviors in the RIA conditions. The code performs thermal and FEM-mechanical calculation for a single rod in axis-symmetric geometry to predict temperature profile, PCMI contact pressure, stress-strain distribution and their interactions. An experimental analysis by RANNS begins with pre-test conditions of irradiated rod which are given by FEMAXI-6. Analysis was performed on the simulated RIA experiments in NSRR, FK-10 and FK-12, of high burnup BWR rods in a cold start-up conditions, and PCMI process was discussed extensively. It was revealed that pellet thermal expansion dominates cladding deformation and subjects the cladding to bi-axial stress state, and thermal expansion in the cladding makes the stress in the inner region significantly lower than that in the outer region. Simulation calculations with wider pulses were carried out and the resulted cladding hoop stress was compared with the failure stress estimated in the NSRR experiments.