Mesoscale Modeling of Damage Development in Neutron-Irradiated Concrete
Please login to view abstract download link
In the context of ongoing license renewal and extended operation of in-service commercial nuclear power plants, there is a growing focus on assessing the long-term durability of concrete biological shields. In our previous study [1], a 3D thermo-mechanical and neutron diffusion (TMN) model was developed. The model takes into account radiation-induced volumetric expansion of aggregates and considers a two-group neutron diffusion theory combined with a heat conduction in presence of thermal neutron capture. The present work extends this TMN formulation by incorporating an elasto-plastic-damaged mechanical model [2], accounting for mechanical damage of concrete and material nonlinearities. A realistic geometry of a mesoscale concrete sample is numerically reproduced by treating it as a two-phase composite material consisting of aggregates and mortar. To validate the proposed model, an experimental study from the literature [3] is simulated. The numerical results in terms of damage propagation in neutron-irradiated concrete obtained by the model are compared against experimental results, demonstrating the predictive capability of the proposed model for radiation damage development and evolution in concrete materials.
