Analysis of the Thermal Behavior of DUPIC Fuel

Abstract

In order to evaluate the thermal behavior of DUPIC fuel, the irradiation test of simulated DUPIC fuel was accomplished at the HANARO research reactor, and the post-irradiation analysis of irradiated pellets was performed at IMEF in KAERI. To find out the temperature distribution of DUPIC fuel pellets, the FEMAXI-IV code that can analyze the performance of a fuel rod was selected and the thermal conductivity model suitable for characteristics of DUPIC fuel was proposed. Considering HANARO operation conditions, the heat transfer routine was also revised. The temperature profile calculated with FEMAXI-IV was compared with the result ofpostirradiation analysis. This comparative study shows that the estimate of FEMAXI-IV agreed moderately well with the result of post-irradiation examination.