Analysis on the behavior of dispersed plate-type fuel based on fluid-solid coupling method

In this study, a three-dimensional bi-directional fluid-solid coupling method FLUENT-ABAQUS-MpCCI was used to analyze the behavior of the fuel plate. ABAQUS was used to simulate the solid domain, including the heat conduction, mechanical behavior and irradiation effects. Several subroutines were developed and validated, including CREEP, UHARD, USDFLD and UEXPAN. FLUENT was used to simulate the fluid domain, including pressure and temperature. FLUENT and ABAQUS were coupled by MpCCI to consider the interaction between fluid domain and solid domain. Many parameters were obtained, including fluid temperature distribution, Mises stress distribution and strain distribution. The influences of the fluid domain, particle volume fraction, creep behavior and burnup were analyzed. The results showed that the zero-dimensional model or one-dimensional model on fluid could not accurately simulate the mechanical behavior of the fuel plate. The results also showed that the creep behavior could reduce the Mises stress on the cladding.