Investigation of the CANDU Fuel Bundle Structural Integrity Due to Flow-Induced Vibrations

Abstract

This work presents a numerical model to predict the vibration response of a CANDU fuel bundle and the associated fretting wear in the surrounding pressure tube. The numerical model can be easily adapted to include the effects of fuel bundle impact during the refueling and start-up of the reactor, and the acoustic pressure pulsations caused by the primary heat transport (PHT) pumps. The simulation is performed for a typical CANDU fuel bundle with 37 fuel elements. The interaction between the buttons of the inner fuel elements, and between the bearing pads of the outer fuel elements and the pressure tube was simulated for CANDU fuel bundle. The effect of this interaction on the wear-producing parameters such as impact force and work rate was investigated. Preliminary results are presented herein.