Abstract
As the coupled neutronics/thermal-hydraulics capabilities within the Virtual Environment for Reactor Analysis (VERA) have become more mature, there has been an increased focus on incorporating fuel performance analysis methods. A primary goal of the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL) is to estimate local cladding failure through pellet-clad interaction (PCI). While this capability is being pursued through several different approaches, the procedure presented in this paper focuses on running independent fuel performance calculations with BISON using the multicycle output data from coupled neutron transport/thermal hydraulics simulations. This type of approach is consistent with traditional fuel performance analysis methods, where the analyses are typically separate from core simulation analyses. Recent work simulating twelve cycles of Watts Bar Unit 1 with the Virtual Environment for Reactor Analysis (VERA) are capitalized upon, and quarter-core BISON results for parameters of interest to PCI (maximum centerline fuel temperature, maximum clad hoop stress, minimum gap thickness, and cumulative damage index) are presented for Cycles 1-3. Based on these results, it is suggested that this capability could be used as a screening tool for gathering insight into the PCI that is occurring, singling out the more problematic rods for further analysis.
