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The Mission of the Robotics and Remote Systems Division is to promote the development and application of immersive simulation, robotics, and remote systems for hazardous environments for the purpose of reducing hazardous exposure to individuals, reducing environmental hazards and reducing the cost of performing work.
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2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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The Nuclear Family: Empowering parents and caregivers
The Diversity and Inclusion in ANS Committee is hosting a webinar today to celebrate the contributions of parents in the nuclear industry while fostering diversity and inclusion within the community.
Register now: The webinar, from 1:00-2:00 pm ET, will highlight how the nuclear industry supports caregivers, new parents, and new mothers, and will focus on life transitions and parental responsibilities.
J. Sercombe, V. D’Ambrosi, S. Béjaoui, I. Zacharie-Aubrun
Nuclear Technology | Volume 210 | Number 2 | February 2024 | Pages 269-284
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2023.2188138
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper presents 2D(r,) simulations of the HBC-4 power-to-melt experiment performed with the fuel performance code ALCYONE. The HBC-4 experiment is one of the two test cases selected for the simulation exercise on past fuel melting experiments of the Power to Melt and Maneuverability (P2M) project. The ramp terminal level (RTL) at peak power node (PPN) has been estimated at 66 kW·m−1 by gamma scanning and 70 kW·m−1 based on online measurements of thermal fluxes. The fuel burnup at PPN was close to 60 GWd/tU−1. The cladding failed during the short holding time at a RTL of 40 s. Fuel melting took place at the pellet center, and in particular, in front of clad cracks.
In this paper, simulations of the HBC-4 power-to-melt experiment are performed using an updated version of the 2D(r,) scheme of ALCYONE where half of the fuel pellet is described. This configuration allows for the modeling of clad failure by iodine stress corrosion cracking and of its consequences on fuel pellet deformation. The modeling of fuel melting relies on thermochemical equilibrium calculations performed with the OpenCalphad Gibbs Energy Minimizer and the Thermodynamics of Advanced Fuels International Database. The simulation without clad failure indicates that the solidus is reached during the HBC-4 experiment but not the liquidus. The simulation with clad failure leads to a small increase in the fuel temperature that is sufficient to reach the liquidus at the pellet center, in agreement with postirradiation examination (PIE). The impact of water ingress in the rod and vaporization at the pellet surface is discussed, showing that it could explain the pronounced swelling of the fuel pellet reported from the PIE.