| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 296692 | Nuclear Engineering and Design | 2013 | 10 Pages |
•Finite element procedure developed for stress analysis of HTGR graphite component.•Realistic fluence profile and reflector brick shape considered for the simulation.•Also realistic H-451 grade material properties considered for simulation.•Typical outer reflector of a GT-MHR type reactor considered for numerical study.•Based on the simulation results replacement of graphite bricks can be scheduled.
High temperature gas cooled reactors, such as prismatic and pebble bed reactors, are increasingly becoming popular because of their inherent safety, high temperature process heat output, and high efficiency in nuclear power generation. In prismatic reactors, hexagonal graphite bricks are used as reflectors and fuel bricks. In the reactor environment, graphite bricks experience high temperature and neutron dose. This leads to dimensional changes (swelling and or shrinkage) of these bricks. Irradiation dimensional changes may affect the structural integrity of the individual bricks as well as of the overall core. The present paper presents a generic procedure for stress analysis of prismatic core graphite components using graphite reflector as an example. The procedure is demonstrated through commercially available ABAQUS finite element software using the option of user material subroutine (UMAT). This paper considers General Atomics Gas Turbine-Modular Helium Reactor (GT-MHR) as a bench mark design to perform the time integrated stress analysis of a typical reflector brick considering realistic geometry, flux distribution and realistic irradiation material properties of transversely isotropic H-451 grade graphite.
