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Experimentally Validated Multiphysics Modeling of Fracture Induced by Thermal Shocks in Sintered UO2 Pellets

Commercial nuclear power plants extensively rely on fission energy from uranium dioxide (UO2) fuel pellets that provide thermal energy; consequently, generating carbon-free power in current generation reactors. UO2 fuel incurs damage and fractures during operation due to large thermal gradients that develop across the fuel pellet during normal operation. The underlying mechanisms by which these processes take place are still poorly understood. This work is a part of our combined experimental and computational effort for quantifying the UO2 fuel fracture behavior induced by thermal shock. In this work, we describe an experimental study performed to understand the fuel fracturing behavior of sintered powder UO2 pellets when exposed to thermal shock conditions, as well as a multiphysics phase-field fracture model which accurately predicts the experimental results. Parametric studies and sensitivity analysis are used to assess uncertainty. Experimental data was collected from multiple experiments by exposing UO2 pellets to high-temperature conditions (900-1200C), which are subsequently quenched in sub-zero water. We exhibit that the fracture results gathered in the experimental setting can be consistently recreated by this work phase-field fracture model, demonstrating a reliable ability to our model in simulating the thermal shock gradients and subsequent fracture mechanics in the primary fuel source for Light-Water Reactors (LWRs). This model advanced the fundamental understanding of thermal shock and property correlations to advance utilization of UO2 as a fuel for nuclear reactors.