title: Effects study on the thermal stresses in a LEU metal foil annular target.
abstract: The effects of fission gas pressure, uranium swelling and thermal contact conductance on the thermal-mechanical behavior of an annular target containing a low-enriched uranium foil (LEU) encapsulated in a nickel foil have been presented in this paper. The draw-plug assembly method is simulated to obtain the residual stresses, which are applied to the irradiation model as initial inputs, and the integrated assembly-irradiation process is simulated as an axisymmetric problem using the commercial finite element code Abaqus FEA. Parametric studies were performed on the LEU heat generation rate and the results indicate satisfactory irradiation performance of the annular target. The temperature and stress margins have been provided along with a discussion of the results.
authors.affiliation: University of Missouri, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, E2411a Lafferre Hall, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. Electronic address: sgkff@mail.missouri.edu.
authors.forename: Srisharan G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Govindarajan
authors.affiliation: University of Missouri, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, E2411a Lafferre Hall, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. Electronic address: solbrekkeng@missouri.edu.
authors.forename: Gary L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Solbrekken
mesh_terms: D019245:Compressive Strength / Q000528:radiation effects; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D055119:Elastic Modulus / Q000528:radiation effects; D004735:Energy Transfer / Q000528:radiation effects; D008956:Models, Chemical; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D033081:Shear Strength / Q000528:radiation effects; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013696:Temperature; D013718:Tensile Strength / Q000528:radiation effects; D013814:Thermal Conductivity; D014501:Uranium / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects*
chemical_list: D014501:Uranium
keywords: Annular target; Fission gas; Heat transfer; Low-enriched uranium foil; Molybdenum-99; Thermal contact conductance; Thermal-stress; Uranium swelling