An Investigation of the Stiffness Characteristics of a PWR Nuclear Fuel Spacer Grid by a 3D Shell Model

Minhee Kim and Ihn Namgung ()
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Minhee Kim: Department of NPP Engineering, KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School, Ulsan 45014, Republic of Korea
Ihn Namgung: Department of NPP Engineering, KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School, Ulsan 45014, Republic of Korea

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 23, 1-12

Abstract: The structural integrity of fuel assemblies hinges significantly on the effectiveness of spacer grids. In this paper, we introduce a novel approach to assess the structural robustness of the mid-spacer grid (SG) of the PLUS7 fuel assembly (FA) using 3D shell elements. Any excessive external load from seismic activity can be broken down into two perpendicular components, namely normal load and shear load. The decomposition enables easy assessment of the structural integrity of the fuel spacer grid for any external loads. From the analysis, the reaction force of normal input displacement is around 440 times greater than that for shear input displacement for the same amount of displacement. This result highlights how vulnerable the spacer grid is to shear load and this should be considered in studies of fuel assembly integrity assessment. This study also highlights the need for improved and more robust spacer grids for safer operation of NPPs.

Keywords: nuclear fuel assembly; spacer grid; 3D shell modeling; FEM analysis; spacer grid stiffness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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