b'3.5 AR PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTPre-Test Fuel Performance Evaluation of THOR-C ExperimentsPrincipal Investigator: Matt Mihelish Team Members/Collaborators: Colby Jensen, Pavel Medvedev T he Advanced Reactor Experi- Experimental Breeder Reactor-II ments for Sodium Fast Reactorreactor. The C series is the primary fuels (ARES) project is a jointtopic of this document as the first project between U.S. Department ofset of experiments to be tested in the Energy (DOE) and the Japan Atomicoverall project.Energy Agency (JAEA). The experi- The objective of this report mental program consists of severalis to provide a predictive fuel tests designed to evaluate transientperformance assessment of the performance of mixed-oxide (MOX)THOR-C experiments using the and metallic, sodium fast reactorBISON fuel performance code. The (SFR) fuels. Detailed studies ofBISON temperature results will transient fuel performance havebe compared to ABAQUS results been the subject of research inof the THOR-C experiments. The several historical research programs,calculations provided in this but little testing has been done ondocument represent coupled SFR fuels since the shutdown of thethermomechanical evaluation Transient Reactor Test facility andof the THOR-C experiments.the CABRI sodium loop in the early 1990s and early 2000s, respectively.Project Description:The ARES test program includesThe BISON fuel performance three series of tests to be performedcode is the primary tool used for including a set of fresh fuel metallicmodeling the performance of the fuel specimens called the Tempera- THOR-C experiments. Previously, ture Heatsink Overpower ResponseABAQUS was used to predict the (THOR) Commissioning or C-series,thermal behavior of the experi-the THOR-M-TOP/M-LOF experi- ments providing only temperature ments for irradiated metallic fuelresults. Those results are used for specimens, and the THOR-MOXTOPcomparison to the BISON results experiments on irradiated MOXto as model benchmarks for the pins. DOE and JAEA are the primarythermal predictions. The BISON principal investigators for themodels and geometry used for the metallic fuel and MOX fuel scopes,analysis of the THOR-C experi-respectively. All irradiated pins arements were adapted from earlier from historical experiments in theversions to better match the final 186 2023|AFC ACCOMPLISHMENTS'