Abstract
Under the DOE Deep Burn program TRISO fuel is being investigated as a fuel form for consuming plutonium and minor actinides, and for greater efficiency in uranium utilization. The result will thus be to drive TRISO particulate fuel to very high burn-ups. In the current effort the various phenomena in the TRISO particle are being modeled using a variety of techniques. The chemical behavior is being treated utilizing thermochemical analysis to identify phase formation/transformation and chemical activities in the particle, including kernel migration. First principles calculations are being used to investigate the critical issue of fission product palladium attack on the SiC coating layer. Density functional theory is being used to understand fission product diffusion within the plutonia oxide kernel. Kinetic Monte Carlo techniques are shedding light on transport of fission products, most notably silver, through the carbon and SiC coating layers. The diffusion of fission products through an alternative coating layer, ZrC, is being assessed via DFT methods. Finally, a multiscale approach is being used to understand thermal transport, including the effect of radiation damage induced defects, in a model SiC material.
