Irradiation-Induced Thermal-Mechanical Coupling Analysis for a U-10Mo/Zr Dispersion Fuel Plate Based on Multi-scale Related Homogenized Models
摘要
U-10Mo/Zr dispersion fuel is a promising candidate for research and test reactors, where its irradiation-induced thermo-mechanical performance is attracting more attention. In this study, a three-dimensional mechanical constitutive model and a stress update algorithm are developed for the fuel meat, incorporating multi-scale related homogenization models for fission-induced volume growth and creep. Simulations of the irradiation-induced thermo-mechanical coupling behaviors in a miniaturized fuel plate with a uniform initial particle distribution reveal that: (1) the microstructure evolves heterogeneously, with the current particle volume fraction and porosity strengthened near the corners of the fuel meat; (2) the plate thickness variation near the fuel meat corner is dominated by the through-thickness fuel creep strains, where the local porosity and in-plane compressive stresses are enhanced; positive first principal stress and high particle porosity near the fuel meat corners maximize the fracture risk. This work provides a thermo-mechanical coupling analysis method and offers a theoretical and numerical basis for fuel plate optimization.