Publications Details

Fuel/Basket Degradation and Waste Package Pressure Effects Modeling (Progress Report)

Hardin, Ernest H.; Damjanac, Branko; Varun, Varun; Furtney, Jason; Radakovic-Guzina, Zorica

Progress is reported on development and testing of the Fuel/Basket Degradation Model, and the Waste Package Breach Model. The work follows on reported FY19 model development (SNL-ICG 2019). Modeling has addressed questions framed in the deliverable description: 1) how fuel/basket damage, including from seismic ground motion, could impact reactivity; 2) whether dynamic degradation processes (e.g., caused by seismic ground motion) should be targets for further model development; and 3) what are the key model parameters and how do they affect the likelihood and energy of criticality events. For basket structure made from aluminum-based metal-matrix composite material, basket collapse would coincide with loss of neutron absorbers, and would occur within a few hundred years after waste package breach. Degradation models discussed in this report have thus far focused on a generic 32-PWR (pressurized water reactor fuel) basket with aluminum-based plates