Comparison of the Characteristics of Solid Type and Annular Type Nuclear Fuels Using Thermoelastic-Plastic-Creep FEM

The purpose of this study is to compare the characteristics of two types of nuclear fuel using the finite element program of thermoelastic-plastic-creep analysis. The analyzed fuel rods are of two types, solid and annular ones, and their thermomechanical characteristics are compared. Thermoelastic-plastic-creep analyses were made using an in-house finite element analysis program that adopts the “effective-stress-function” algorithm. The temperature-dependent material properties, which were obtained from the experiments for actual nuclear reactors, are adopted. The effects of type of fuel systems are revealed in both stresses and temperature distributions. The maximum tensile and compressive hoop stress of pellet and cladding are monitored to evaluate the mechanical behavior, and the maximum temperature is used to evaluate the thermal behavior. Although the annular type of fuel has certain disadvantage, it would be used very effectively or safely in future nuclear power plants.