A Model for Cracking of Ceramic Fuel Particles in Dispersion Fuel

Based on the fracture strength of ceramic material, an analytical model for the cracking of ceramic fuel particle in nuclear dispersion fuel was proposed in the paper. The relationship between the cracking temperature and the burn-up of fuel particles has been calculated. The effects of metal matrix, external restraint, fuel particle size and content on the fuel particle cracking behavior have been investigated in detail, and the approaches to increase the cracking temperature were also discussed. The result shows that, the cracking temperature of fuel particles would decrease approximately in power law with the increasing of burn-up and would decrease linearly with the increasing of fuel particle content. Relative higher porosity and bigger pore size could be helpful to increase the cracking temperature.