A Bi-Layered Three-Dimensional Mechanical Modeling of the Cladding and Its Creep Deformation Analysis

Abstract The cladding of the fuel rod is a cylinder-shaped structure made of Zirconium alloy, which will collapse due to structural creep under the extremely service conditions such as high temperature, high pressure, and high irradiation. The collapse of the cladding results in losing its structure function and threatening the safety of the reactor. Based on the commercial finite element software ABAQUS with its user subroutine CREEP, a bi-layered (coating and matrix material) three-dimensional (3D) cylindrical cladding model is established with thermal and irradiation finite creep behavior. The external pressure is assumed to be constant acting on the outer surface. The deformation and the rate of deformation increase with the increasing of the irradiation time in the reactor, which leads to the collapse of the cladding eventually. The initial ovality has a positive effect on the creep deformation. Compared with the single-layered model, the coating of the bi-layered cladding can prevent the Zirconium alloy matrix from excessive creep deformation and thus can protect the cladding. The thicker the coating, the stronger the protective effect from the mechanical point of view. A qualitative case of the cladding creep burst was simulated, and the behavior of the creep burst and creep collapse is similar. The corrosion and oxidation behavior are not considered herein for simplicity. The current bi-layered 3d model can be extended to the structural design, safety analysis, as well as life evaluation of some multi-layered cladding of the accident tolerant fuel (ATF).