TY - CONF A1 - Gaddampally, Mohan Reddy A1 - Zencker, Uwe A1 - Völzke, Holger T1 - Cohesive Zone Modelling Approach on Irradiated Claddings Subjected to Long-Term Dry Interim Storage N2 - Long-term dry interim storage may adversely affect the mechanical properties of spent fuel rods, possibly resulting in a reduced resilience during handling or transport after storage. Pre-storage drying and the early stage of interim storage can subject the cladding to higher temperatures and higher pressure induced tensile hoop stresses than those associated with in-reactor operation and pool storage. Under these conditions, radial hydrides may precipitate in zirconium-based alloys (Zircaloy) during slow cooling, which may result in embrittlement of the cladding material and eventually a sudden failure of cladding under additional mechanical loads. Especially long, continuous radial hydride structures and low temperature can cause severe embrittlement of claddings and finally failure by fracture even at small deformations. The focus of the presented research is on the development of appropriate numerical methods for predicting the mechanical behaviour and identification of limiting conditions to prevent brittle fracture of Zircaloy claddings. An iterative inverse analysis method is used for deriving the elastic-plastic material properties in the hoop direction of a ring-shaped sample. A modelling approach based on cohesive zones is explained which can reproduce the propagation of cracks initiated at radial hydrides in the zirconium matrix. The developed methods are applied to defueled samples of cladding alloy ZIRLO®, which were subjected to a thermo-mechanical treatment to reorient existing circumferential hydrides to radial hydrides. A selected sample showing sudden load drops during a quasi-static ring compression test is analysed by means of fracture mechanics for illustrative purposes. T2 - 7th GRS Workshop on the Safety of Extended Dry Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel CY - Garching, Germany DA - 24.05.2023 KW - Ageing Management KW - Cladding Embrittlement KW - Extended Storage KW - Ring Compression Test KW - Spent Nuclear Fuel PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58553 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -