Integrating ion irradiation and finite element analysis to unravel swelling-induced risks in cr-coated cladding

Paixao, Artur Santos

Repositório Institucional da Produção Científica da Marinha do Brasil (RI-MB)

Use este identificador para citar ou linkar para este item: https://hdl.handle.net/ripcmb/848018

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Campo DC	Valor	Idioma
dc.contributor.author	Paixao, Artur Santos	-
dc.date.accessioned	2025-11-24T13:48:44Z	-
dc.date.available	2025-11-24T13:48:44Z	-
dc.date.issued	2025	-
dc.identifier.uri	https://repositorio.marinha.mil.br/handle/ripcmb/848018	-
dc.description	Chromium-coated Zircaloy claddings have emerged as a promising accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) design to improve the high-temperature oxidation resistance of nuclear fuel rods, particularly under loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) scenarios. Chromium’s ability to form a stable, protective oxide layer and its low neutron absorption cross-section make it an attractive candidate for short-term evolutionary ATF solutions. However, under extended operation and irradiation, chromium ex- hibits degradation mechanisms such as interdiffusion with Zircaloy, void swelling, and the forma- tion of brittle intermetallic layers, which can compromise mechanical integrity and nuclear safety margins. This thesis integrates ion irradiation experiments and finite element analysis (FEA) to evaluate the impact of irradiation-induced swelling and creep on the structural performance of Cr- coated claddings. Swelling data from ion-irradiated Cr samples at Accelerator Laboratory Texas A&M are used as input for simulations that assess stress evolution under typical reactor operat- ing and refueling conditions. Results show that swelling significantly increases interfacial stress, while irradiation creep partially offsets this buildup during steady-state operation. However, dur- ing reactor cooldown, when creep is ineffective, the accumulated misfit strains cause sharp tensile stress surges, raising the likelihood of coating delamination and cracking. These findings highlight critical irradiation effects often overlooked in current safety assessments and demonstrate that ig- noring swelling and creep may lead to underpredicted failure risks in ATF designs. The developed methodology can be extended to other coated systems to inform regulatory evaluations and guide safer reactor design.	pt_BR
dc.language.iso	en_US	pt_BR
dc.publisher	Texas A&M University	pt_BR
dc.rights	openAccess	pt_BR
dc.subject	Swelling	pt_BR
dc.subject	Accident-tolerant fuel	pt_BR
dc.subject	Irradiattion creep	pt_BR
dc.title	Integrating ion irradiation and finite element analysis to unravel swelling-induced risks in cr-coated cladding	pt_BR
dc.type	masterThesis	pt_BR
dc.subject.dgpm	Engenharia nuclear	pt_BR
dc.subject.setorMarinha	Diretoria-Geral do Desenvolvimento Nuclear e Tecnologia da Marinha (DGDNTM)	pt_BR
Aparece nas coleções:	Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação: Coleção de Dissertações

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