SUMMARY

A composite nuclear fuel element prosed for use in fast reactors is modeled in the COMSOL Multiphysics software suite. The advanced composite fuel incorporates attributes which may increase fuel performance, fuel safety, and non-proliferation resistance. Currently, no published studies analyze internal interactions within the fuel element to substantiate claims of the fuel's performance characteristics. The current work simulates the coupled thermal and solid mechanics within the fuel using finite element analysis. Peak fuel temperatures and clad strain are determined for typical steady state reactor conditions to judge safety margins. Prior experiments involving conventional alloy fuels are modeled in parallel to establish the validity of the finite element simulations.