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Development And Application Of 3-D Fuel Performance Modeling To Assess Missing Pellet Surface Influence On Pellet Clad Interaction And Clad Failure, Nathan Allen Capps
Development And Application Of 3-D Fuel Performance Modeling To Assess Missing Pellet Surface Influence On Pellet Clad Interaction And Clad Failure, Nathan Allen Capps
Doctoral Dissertations
In the late 1970s PCI related failures caused the implementation of startup ramp restrictions. These ramp restrictions where intended to reduce the stresses caused by pellet cladding contact. These ramp restrictions had a significant impact on Westinghouse fueled PWRs, reducing PCI related failure until 2003. Through investigation into these fuel rod failures lead to the conclusion that missing pellet surfaces (MPS) were the root cause of the failures. MPS are local geometric defects in nuclear fuel pellets that result from pellet mishandling or the manufacturing process. The presence of MPS defects can cause stress concentrations in the clad of sufficient …