Host: The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
Name : The 30th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE30)
Date : May 21, 2023 - May 26, 2023
Zirconium-based cladding is susceptible to degradation because of temperature, irradiation hardening, and hydrogen uptake. The characteristics of hydride formation in the cladding are the most critical factors that lead to changes in the mechanical properties as well as detrimental to its structural integrity. Thus, the investigation of hydride formation effects and associated mechanical property changes are considered an important topic for spent nuclear fuel management to support maintaining spent fuel safety. In this paper, the modeling approach of a representative volume element (RVE) is discussed for one concentration of the embedded hydrides considering two representative orientations as well as different hydride fiber distributions. The changes in mechanical properties are predicted by applying uniaxial tension. The model for the illustrative case is validated based on former uniaxial tensile test data. The proposed modeling approach may be applied to generate further mechanical properties for a wide range of hydrogen concentrations in different orientations and to investigate the correlation between the parameters of hydride formation to the mechanical properties.
