Assessment of Fuel Manufacturing Safe Operating Envelope

Abstract

In a previous work, the range of fuel manufacturing parameters was reviewed. This paper models that deduced range with ELESTRES. The purpose is to establish quantitatively the fuel parameters that lead to bounding predictions of fuel centreline temperature, volume average temperature, free inventory fraction and element average sheath strain. This will establish the analysis range for fuel and hence the Safe Operating Envelope (SOE) for fuel. The first application of the work will be to revisit the implication of considering a range of fuel conditions on accident consequences. At present, the PLGS '97 Safety Report assesses accident consequence based on only a nominal fuel type that was defined around 1980. The second application will be to assess the need to retain the bundle mass limit in our Fuel Tender Document.