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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.11289 |
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Table of Contents:
- In this work, we have developed a model for irradiation-assisted grain growth in nanocrystalline UO$_2$ using the MARMOT code. We include the impact of irradiation on UO$_2$ grain growth by coupling a phase field grain growth model with a heat conduction simulation that features a random heat source representing thermal spikes. Our model parameters have been calibrated against experimental measurements at 300 K. The calibrated model predicts grain growth in an irradiated UO$_2$ thin film that compares well with experimental data at 50 K. These results suggest that thermal spikes are the major cause of the irradiation-assisted grain growth observed in the UO$_2$ experiments. They also indicate that irradiation-assisted grain growth is only significant with average grain sizes less than 35 nm, and thus can be neglected when considering fuel performance of typical UO$_2$ fuel pellets.