Comparison of correlations for thermal creep of FBR MOX

Calabrese, R.*; Hirooka, Shun 

Thermal creep is one of the key properties of mixed oxide (MOX) fuel for innovative fast reactors. Thermal creep of fuel affects markedly the interaction between the fuel and the cladding. A review of correlations available in the literature is presented. The effect of porosity, plutonium concentration, and stoichiometry are discussed also in the light of recent numerical results. Our analysis pointed out some inconsistencies concerning the modelling of the effect of porosity on diffusional creep and a re-evaluation of the effect of plutonium concentration. The discussion suggested that Evans's findings on the effect of stoichiometry should be better assessed as well as the level of increase in creep moving towards stoichiometry. Typical operating conditions of fast breeder reactors confirmed the need for an extension of porosity and temperature correlations' domains. Besides this, a new correlation based on a separate-effect approach has been proposed for fuel performance codes.