| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2025 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Microstructural, Mechanical, and Chemical Behavior of Solid Nuclear Fuel and Fuel-Cladding Interface II
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| Presentation Title |
Atomistic-Scale Simulations to Predict Creep Rates in Doped UO2 |
| Author(s) |
Conor Galvin, David Andersson, Andrea Rovinelli, Laurent Capolungo, Pieterjan Robbe, Michael Cooper |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Conor Galvin |
| Abstract Scope |
Creep is an important deformation mechanism in standard UO2 and advanced (doped) UO2 nuclear fuel used in Light Water Reactors (LWRs). Previously, using results from atomistic simulations, the Coble mechanism was found to be dominant in the diffusional regime. It is known that for Coble creep, when grain size increases the creep rate is suppressed following an inverse cubed relationship. However, Cr doped UO2, which has been doped to produce a larger grain size than conventional UO2, is shown to have higher creep rates than conventional UO2. Here, we examine the impact of Cr for the Coble mechanism to see can it explain the enhanced creep rates measured in doped UO2. In addition, we aim to address the inherent uncertainties from the lower length scale by extending a previous Bayesian inference calibration of uranium self-diffusion, Xe diffusion and UO2±x thermochemistry to also include data on thermal creep. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |