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Fuel rods operating for several years in a LWR can experience fuel-cladding gap closure as a result of the phenomena due to temperature and irradiation. Local power increase induces circumferential stresses in the cladding as a result of the different expansion in the cladding and the pellet. In presence of corrosive fission products (i.e. Iodine) and beyond specific stress threshold and level of burnup, cracks may grow-up from the internal to the external cladding surface, causing fuel rod failure. The phenomenon, known as pellet cladding interaction-stress corrosion cracking PCI/SCC, or PCI, has been identified as a problem since the 70's. The PWR Super-Ramp experiment (part of OECD/NEA “International Fuel Performance Experiments (IFPE) database”) twenty eight fuel rods behaviour has been simulated using TRANSURANUS code version “v1m1j11”. Two sets (“Reference” and “Improved”) of suitable input decks modelling the fuel rods, based on the available literature are used to run the simulations. Focus is given to the main phenomena which are involved or may influence the cladding failure. Systematic comparison of the code results with the experimental data are performed for the parameters relevant for the PCI phenomenon. Sensitivity calculations on fission gas release models implemented in TRANSURANUS code are also performed in order to address the impact on the results. The results show the ability of TRANSURANUS version “v1m1j11” in conservatively predicting the rods failure due to PCI in PWR fuel and Zircaloy-4 cladding. Increased availability of experimental data would help to perform a deeper analysis.

Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on EBR-II Shutdown Heat Removal Tests (SHRT) was established by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The aim of the project is to support and to improve validation of simulation tools and projects for Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors (SFR). The Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) plant was a uranium metalalloy- fuelled liquid-metal-cooled fast reactor designed and operated by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) for the U.S. Department of Energy at the Argonne-West site. In the frame of this project, benchmark analysis of one of the EBR-II shutdown heat removal tests, protected loss-of-flow transient (SHRT-17), has been performed at the Gruppo di Ricerca Nucleare San Piero a Grado (GRNSPG) in Pisa, Italy. The aim of this paper is to present modelling of EBR-II reactor design using RELAP-3D, and to present results of the transient analysis of SHRT- 17. Complete nodalization of the reactor was made from the beginning. Model is divided in primary side that contains core, pumps, reactor pool and, for this kind of reactor specific, Z pipe, and intermediate side that contains Intermediate Heat Exchanger (IHX). After achievement of acceptable steady-state results, transient analysis was performed. Starting from full power and flow, both the primary loop and intermediate loop coolant pumps were simultaneously tripped and the reactor was scrammed to simulate a protected loss-of-flow accident. In addition, the primary system auxiliary coolant pump that normally had an emergency battery power supply was turned off. Despite early rise of the temperature in the reactor, the natural circulation characteristics managed to keep it at acceptable leveles and cooled the reactor down safely at decay heat power levels. Thermal-hydraulics characteristics and plant behaviour was focused on prediction of natural convection cooling by evaluating the reactor core flow and temperatures and their comparison with experimental data that were provided by ANL. The plan is to improve the model in future with replacing current models of core and pool with 3D models, and, eventually, coupling with neutronic codes for more accurate results.