Analyses of SPERT-CDC test 859 by FEMAXI-7 and RANNS codes

Taniguchi, Yoshinori ; Udagawa, Yutaka  ; Amaya, Masaki  

In the current Japanese regulation concerning fuel safety, the criterion of fuel failure due to pellet-cladding mechanical interaction (PCMI) in a burnup range of 25-40 GWd/t is determined substantially based on the result of SPERT-CDC test 859 (SPERT859). In this study, the oxide thickness of the cladding formed on the cladding outer surface of SPERT859 test rod and its fuel enthalpy at failure due to PCMI under this corrosion condition were analyzed by using fuel performance codes FEMAXI-7 and RANNS. These results of FEMAXI-7 and RANNS showed that the cladding of the test rod had excessive corrosion and suggested that the fuel enthalpy at failure of SPERT859 was affected by the excessive corrosion on the cladding of the test rod and was likely lower than that of the typical fuel for light water reactors.