Study on the Ultimate Drop Height of Fast Reactor Fuel Assemblies

Lei Xu; Zhendong Hu

doi:10.6919/ICJE.202605_12(5).0011

Authors

Lei Xu
Zhendong Hu

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6919/ICJE.202605_12(5).0011

Keywords:

Fast Reactor Fuel Assembly; Drop Impact Test; Numerical Simulation; Super Folding Element Theory.

Abstract

To evaluate the drop resistance safety performance of fast reactor fuel assemblies during operation and handling, determine their safe drop height threshold, and prevent structural integrity and sealing failure caused by accidental drops, drop impact tests at various heights were conducted. By analyzing the variation laws of acceleration and strain responses with drop height, reconstructing the drop dynamic process combined with ANSYS/LS-DYNA numerical simulation, the critical drop height for collapse failure of fuel assemblies was predicted based on the super folding element theory. The results show that the peak acceleration and peak strain increase significantly with the rise of drop height. Plastic deformation occurs at the bottom of the hexagonal wrapper tube when the drop height is 1000 mm, and collapse failure takes place at the drop height of 4050 mm. Finally, the critical drop height for structural failure of fuel assemblies is determined through theoretical analysis, which provides a quantitative safety basis for their operation and layout design.

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