While computer codes that represent nuclear reactor behavior have been used for many years, there is a new push to fully understand nuclear systems behavior, including that of the fuel, using computational methods. Work in our group on the development of nuclear fuel simulations is focusing on the chemical behavior of the fuel as it undergoes burnup. Using chemical equilibrium calculations coupled with broader nuclear fuel codes in the MOOSE-BISON framework we will now be able to begin to fully describe how fuel performs in today’s reactors. We are working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory in the development and implementation of our approaches.
