Modeling a failure criterion for U–Mo/Al dispersion fuel

Abstract The breakaway swelling in U–Mo/Al dispersion fuel is known to be caused by large pore formation enhanced by interaction layer (IL) growth between fuel particles and Al matrix. In this study, a critical IL thickness was defined as a criterion for the formation of a large pore in U–Mo/Al dispersion fuel. Specifically, the critical IL thickness is given when two neighboring fuel particles come into contact with each other in the developed IL. The model was verified using the irradiation data from the RERTR tests and KOMO-4 test. The model application to full-sized sample irradiations such as IRISs, FUTURE, E-FUTURE, and AFIP-1 tests resulted in conservative predictions. The parametric study revealed that the fuel particle size and the homogeneity of the fuel particle distribution are influential for fuel performance.