Xe gas bubble re-solution in U-10Mo nuclear fuel

TL;DR

This study uses simulations to quantify Xe gas bubble re-solution rates in U-10Mo nuclear fuel, revealing that electronic stopping does not contribute to re-solution and providing detailed rate estimates based on nuclear interactions.

Contribution

The paper introduces a combined BCA and MD simulation approach to accurately quantify Xe bubble re-solution rates in U-10Mo fuel, accounting for nuclear stopping effects.

Findings

Re-solution rates vary from 4.4e-26 to 8.8e-25 m^3/fission depending on bubble size.

Electronic stopping does not significantly contribute to gas bubble re-solution.

Re-solution rate inversely correlates with bubble pressure.

Abstract

The U.S. High-Performance Research Reactor program aims to convert high-power research reactors from highly enriched uranium to low-enriched uranium using a monolithic U-10Mo fuel design. A critical aspect of U-10Mo fuel performance is fission gas bubble behavior. These bubbles grow by trapping gas atoms (particularly Xe) but can disintegrate via irradiation-induced "re-solution". The interplay between the trapping and re-solution rates governs bubble evolution, impacting fuel performance and safety. In this study, binary collision approximation (BCA) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to quantify the Xe gas bubble re-solution rate in U-10Mo fuel. First, the energy loss of fission fragments (FFs) through electronic and nuclear stopping was evaluated. The effect of electronic stopping on re-solution was then analyzed using MD simulations coupled with the two-temperature model. Results indicate that thermal spikes generated by electronic stopping do not contribute to gas bubble re-solution in U-10Mo. To quantify re-solution due to nuclear stopping, BCA simulations of FFs in U-10Mo were performed to obtain the average FF incidence probability, energy, and angle as a function of distance from the FF origin. Subsequent simulations assessed FF--bubble interactions in U-10Mo for different FF energies and bubble radii. From these analyses, an overall re-solution rate $b$ was calculated at equilibrium bubble pressure per unit fission rate density, yielding values ranging from $4.4 \times 10^{-26}$ m$^3$/fission for the largest bubbles to $8.8 \times 10^{-25}$ m$^3$/fission for the smallest. The effect of bubble pressure on the re-solution rate was also evaluated, revealing an inverse relationship between the two.