氧化物燃料中气孔迁移的多方法多物理场模拟研究

Research on Multimethod and Multiphysics Simulation of Pore Migration in Oxide Nuclear Fuels

  • 摘要: 混合氧化物(MOX)核燃料等在反应堆运行初期存在由温度和温度梯度导致的气孔迁移以及最终形成中心孔的现象。该过程和燃料温度紧密相关,进而会对应力分布产生影响。传统Galerkin有限元方法处理气孔迁移过程存在数值振荡的问题,本研究采用MOOSE平台对MOX燃料在反应堆内运行过程中的气孔迁移导致的结构重构现象进行模拟,特别是气孔的迁移行为对燃料宏观性能的影响,构建多物理场进行模拟计算,并引入全迎风对流守恒(FUC)、流线迎风Petrov-Galerkin(SUPG)、间断有限元(DG)和迎风有限体积(FVM)等数值方法,以解决对流占优条件下的数值振荡问题。研究结果表明,所开发的模型能够准确模拟气孔迁移过程,且与传统的一维程序相比,提供了更高的计算精度。通过与爱达荷国家实验室开发的燃料性能分析程序Bison模拟结果对比,验证了程序的正确性。研究发现,SUPG方法在保持弱形式一致性的同时,还能有效抑制数值振荡。此外,还研究了网格密度对计算结果的影响,并对多维模拟中不同方法的计算效率进行了对比,为工业级燃料性能分析程序的开发提供了技术支持。

     

    Abstract: This comprehensive study investigates the complex phenomenon of pore migration in mixed oxide (MOX) nuclear fuels during reactor startup, a critical process that significantly impacts fuel performance and operational safety. The research focuses on addressing the numerical challenges associated with simulating these temperature gradient-driven microstructural changes, particularly the formation of central voids that affect thermal conductivity and mechanical integrity. Traditional simulation approaches using Galerkin finite element methods often fail to accurately capture these convection-dominated processes due to inherent numerical oscillations, leading to unreliable predictions of fuel behavior under operational conditions. To overcome these limitations, an advanced multiphysics modeling framework using the MOOSE simulation platform was developed, which uniquely integrates fully coupled thermal-stress-porosity interactions to provide a more comprehensive understanding of pore migration dynamics. The study systematically evaluates and compares four state-of-the-art numerical stabilization techniques: full upwind convection conservation (FUC), streamline upwind Petrov-Galerkin (SUPG), discontinuous Galerkin (DG), and upwind finite volume method (FVM). Each method was rigorously tested under various conditions to assess its effectiveness in handling the challenging convection-diffusion equation governing pore transport while maintaining computational efficiency. The framework’s validity was confirmed through extensive benchmarking against Idaho National Laboratory’s established Bison fuel performance code, demonstrating excellent agreement in predicting key phenomena such as radial porosity redistribution and the temporal evolution of central void formation. Detailed analysis reveals that SUPG emerges as the most robust approach, successfully suppressing numerical oscillations while preserving solution accuracy and consistency, even when using relatively coarse mesh resolutions. This method proves particularly effective in maintaining stability across different operating conditions and geometric configurations. In contrast, while FUC shows promise in oscillation reduction, it introduces undesirable numerical diffusion that compromised solution fidelity. DG methods, despite their theoretical advantages, demonstrates limited effectiveness for these specific convection-dominated problems, and FVM implementations face practical challenges related to variable mapping within the MOOSE framework. The research was further extended to multidimensional simulations, where SUPG maintaines its superior performance characteristics, offering an optimal balance between computational efficiency and solution accuracy. These findings have significant implications for industrial applications, particularly in the development of next-generation fuel performance analysis tools. The study provides concrete recommendations for implementing these numerical techniques in practical engineering contexts, with SUPG identified as the most suitable approach for large-scale, high-fidelity simulations of nuclear fuel behavior. The results contribute substantially to the ongoing efforts to enhance nuclear fuel safety, reliability, and performance prediction capabilities, while also establishing a foundation for future research in advanced multiphysics modeling of nuclear materials.

     

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