Dimensional stability is an important aspect of fuel mechanical design and licensing of new fuel designs for nuclear power plants. Dimensional changes within the reactor can affect the safety margins against overheating of the cladding and the pellets, therefore it is crucial that the dimensional changes are kept to a minimum. The profits per produced kiloWatt hour continue to decrease for the Swedish nuclear power plants. Some reactors are even operated with a calculated loss. To reduce fuel costs and thereby improve the profit some reactors are operated with higher uranium enrichment, so that the assemblies can reach a higher average burnup. This increases the neutron fluence to the pellets, cladding an spacers. Fluence is the parameter that most strongly affects dimensional changes within the reactor. This master thesis was carried out at Vattenfall Nuclear Fuel in Solna during 2015. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the different dimensional changes in the fuel designs operating in Ringhals 2 ,3 and 4. The gained results may improve possibilities to verify if fuel assemblies with observed rod bow are safe for continued operation. Inspection videos called visual inspections and 4-camera videos are captured each year in each of the three reactors. From these videos the distance to the top- and bottom plate was measured as well as the magnitude of the rod bow. The results show that Ringhals 2 fuel designs R2L2b and R2L1 make it possible for rod growth through the uppermost grid. This has been achieved by lesser grid spring force and at the present burnup no severe rod bow is observed for either of the fuel designs. In Ringhals 3 and 4 the fuel designs R34L1 and R34L2 show similar trends in rod growth and have the same magnitude of rod bow though it appears in different spans in the assembly. A comparison of the major rod-to-rod gaps and the adjacent rods axial growth has led to the conclusion that rod bow is driven by manufacturing differences within the rods and spacers.

[pt] No projeto de uma usina nuclear PWR, é necessário verificar se os limites de projeto dos seus componentes são respeitados mesmo em condições de operação anormal. O presente trabalho representa uma evolução do programa Sardan, desenvolvido para simulação de transitórios em PWR s. Os novos aspectos incorporados na versão Sardan 2, são: análise da vareta de combustível ou diferenças finitas, modelo de canal aberto para o subcanal crítico e implantação de um modelo simplificado para o sistema de controle automático. O programa foi testado em acidentes condição II, em particular, retirada descontrolada de um conjunto de barras de controle, queda de um conjunto de barras de controle, diluição descontrolada de boro, e os resultados obtidos considerados satisfatórios. / [en] In the design of a PWR nuclear plant it is necessary to verify if the design limits are respected, even under abnormal operation condition. The present work represents an evolution of SARDAN code, developed to simulate transients in PWR, the new aspects incorporeted in SARDAN 2 are: the fuel ROD analysis in finite- diference, an open channel model for the critic subchannel analysis and the introduction of a simplified model for the automatic control system. The program has been tested in accident condition II, in special, uncontrolled ROD cluster assembly bank withoraw, dropped full-length assembly group, uncontrolled Boron dilution, and the results obtained were considered satisfactory.

The need of the experimental support for validation of the computational tools to be applied to analyze the mixing of diluted slugs has been recognized in various countries. The test series for the International Standard Problem ISP-43 provides a platform for experiences to be applied to the simulation of a well-defined test series. Test A and B of the UM2x4 loop test facility were calculated with the CFD Code CFX-4.3. Sensitivity studies were made to analyze the used turbulence model and numerical errors. The results show good agreement with the experimental data for both tests.

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In pressurised water reactors (PWRs), hydrogen overpressure is used to keep the corrosion potential below the threshold for onset of intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) in type 304 SS. However, some regions may contain higher oxygen levels resulting in an increase in the potential. These 'dead space' regions are difficult to access and during refuelling; oxygen may become trapped in these locations. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of PGM additions on IGSCC susceptibility of type 304 stainless steels (SS) in the sensitised state within PWRs. The work presented herein investigates several aspects of the IGSCC problem. Virgin and platinum group metal (PGM)-modified (Ru and Pd) 304 SS have been studied. Material characterisation, including microstructural, tensile properties, hardness and grain size measurements, has been conducted. Crack initiation studies using U-bend samples in autoclaves simulating PWR environments have also been performed. In addition, crack propagation studies using circumferential cracked bar (CCB) specimens under constant extension in potassium tetrathionate solutions, a well-known medium to promote IGSCC on sensitised stainless steels, have been conducted in order to evaluate cracking resistance. Electrochemical studies using model solutions for PWR chemistry (containing boric acid and lithium hydroxide) and also potassium tetrathionate were carried out to look at the influence of the PGM on the kinetics of the main electrochemical reactions. The results revealed that PGM additions appeared to reduce crack initiation on sensitised type 304 SS under oxygenated conditions in high temperature water containing sulphate and chloride. PGM-doped and standard sensitised type 304 stainless steels revealed susceptibility to IGSCC propagation in 0.01 M K2S4O6, at pH=1.5 and 25°C. Electrochemical studies in potassium tetrathionate media showed smaller anodic dissolution peaks with PGM additions and metallography indicated less intergranular attack with PGM additions. In PWR model electrolytes, PGM additions, particularly 1 wt% Ru, were shown to catalyse the oxygen reduction reaction or hydrogen oxidation reaction, depending on the oxygen /hydrogen level. Overall findings showed that Ru additions can improve the IGSCC resistance of sensitised type 304 SS in PWR, while Pd additions are less effective.

The need of the experimental support for validation of the computational tools to be applied to analyze the mixing of diluted slugs has been recognized in various countries. The test series for the International Standard Problem ISP-43 provides a platform for experiences to be applied to the simulation of a well-defined test series. Test A and B of the UM2x4 loop test facility were calculated with the CFD Code CFX-4.3. Sensitivity studies were made to analyze the used turbulence model and numerical errors. The results show good agreement with the experimental data for both tests.