CX-270385: Expansion of BISON Capabilities to Predict the Dynamic Response of Irradiated Fuel Rods – University of New Hampshire

The University of New Hampshire proposes to expand the capabilities of BISON and MOOSE to simulate the structural dynamic response of fuel rods and fuel assemblies during handling and transportation. The study will be divided into five major phases: (i) further development and validation of the coupling between MOOSE and BISON to simulate the dynamic response of fuel rods, (ii) validation of the MOOSE Contact modulus (using both Dirac and Constraint options) utilizing experimental results and the incorporation of a robust cyclic contact algorithm to appropriately represent the interaction between cladding and pellets, (iii) incorporation of nonlinear spring models into the Tensors Mechanics module in MOOSE to simulate the effect of spacer grids on the degree of restraint of the fuel rods; (iv) expansion of the capabilities of the MOOSE Tensor Mechanics module to model frequency-independent damping, (v) validation studies and holistic evaluation of the dynamic response of fuel rods and fuel assemblies.