The effect of fuel rod oxidation on PCMI-induced fuel failure

It was found in a one of the PWRs operating in Korea that a few three cycle-burned Zry-4 fuel assemblies which were loaded in a core center region at control bank positions were leaking. The leaking cycle has experienced a few reactor trips and some fuel rods started to leak at about a month after a power ramp following the second reactor trip. To investigate a root cause of such fuel failure as well as to examine intact and leak rod oxidation behaviors, one intact and one leaking fuel rods were selected from one intact and one failed three cycle-burned fuel assemblies, respectively, and in parallel one intact fuel rod was selected from a two cycle-burned fuel assembly to examine the effect of burnup on fuel rod oxidation and cladding stress during the power ramp. The maximum oxide thicknesses for the intact two cycle-burned and three cycle-burned fuel rods were measured to be about 70 and 140 μm, respectively, whereas that for the leaking three cycle-burned fuel rod to be about 200 μm. The leaking fuel rods generated a very sharp increase in oxide thickness in the fuel rod upper region having a relatively high axial power, resulting in through-wall axial cracks. The root cause of the fuel rod leaks was evaluated to be the pellet-clad mechanical interaction (PCMI)-induced failure combined with excessive Zry-4 oxidation and cladding stress, based on the evaluations of pellet-clad friction coefficient-dependent cladding hoop stresses after the power ramp following the second trip, measured oxide thicknesses and axial cracks on the cladding surface, a fuel leak initiation time and failed fuel rod locations at the control bank positions.