The steady-state and transient gas release and swelling subroutine (GRASS-SST) is a mechanistic computer code for the prediction of fission-gas behavior in UO/sub 2/-base fuels. GRASS-SST treats fission-gas release and fuel swelling on an equal basis and simultaneously treats all major mechanisms that influence fission-gas behavior. The GRASS-SST transient analysis has evolved through comparisons of code predictions with the fission-gas release and physical phenomena that occur during reactor operation and transient direct-electrical heating (DEH) testing of irradiated light-water reactor fuel. The GRASS-SST steady-state analysis has undergone verification for end-of-life fission-gas release and intragranular bubble-size distributions. The results of GRASS-SST predictions for transient fission-gas release during DEH tests are in good agreement with experimental data.

GRASS-SST and FASTGRASS are mechanistic computer codes for predicting fission-gas behavior in UO2-base fuels during steady-state and transient conditions. FASTGRASS was developed in order to satisfy the need for a fast-running alternative to GRASS-SST. Althrough based on GRASS-SST, FASTGRASS is approximately an order of magnitude quicker in execution. The GRASS-SST transient analysis has evolved through comparisons of code predictions with the fission-gas release and physical phenomena that occur during reactor operation and transient direct-electrical-heating (DEH) testing of irradiated light-water reactor fuel. The FASTGRASS calculational procedure is described in this paper, along with models of key physical processes included in both FASTGRASS and GRASS-SST. Predictions of fission-gas release obtained from GRASS-SST and FASTGRASS analyses are compared with experimental observations from a series of DEH tests. The major conclusions is that the computer codes should include an improved model for the evolution of the grain-edge porosity.

A theoretical model (FASTGRASS) has been used for predicting the behavior of fission gas and volatile fission products (VFPs) in UO2-base fuels during steady-state and transient conditions. This model represents an attempt to develop an efficient predictive capability for the full range of possible reactor operating conditions. Fission products released from the fuel are assumed to reach the fuel surface by successively diffusing (via atomic and gas-bubble mobility) from the grains to grain faces and then to the grain edges, where the fission products are released through a network of interconnected tunnels of fission-gas-induced and fabricated porosity.

A simplified semi-empirical model predicting fission gas release form UO{sub 2+x} fuel to the fuel rod plenum as a function of stoichiometry excess (x) is developed to apply to the fuel of a defective LWR fuel rod in operation. The effect of fuel oxidation in enhancing gas diffusion is included as a parabolic dependence of the stoichiometry excess. The increase of fission gas release in a defective BWR fuel rod is at the most 3 times higher than in an intact fuel rod because of small extent of UO2 oxidation. The major enhancement contributor in fission gas release of UO{sub 2+x} fuel is the increased diffusivity due to stoichiometry excess rather than the higher temperature caused by degraded fuel thermal conductivity.

The fuel-pin modeling code LIFE-4 and the mechanistic fission gas behavior model FASTGRASS have been coupled and verified against gas release data from mixed-oxide fuels which were transient tested in the TREAT reactor. Design of the interface between LIFE-4 and FASTGRASS is based on an earlier coupling between an LWR version of LIFE and the GRASS-SST code. Fission gas behavior can significantly affect steady-state and transient fuel performance. FASTGRASS treats fission gas release and swelling in an internally consistent manner and simultaneously includes all major mechanisms thought to influence fission gas behavior. The FASTGRASS steady-state and transient analysis has evolved through comparisons of code predictions with fission-gas release and swelling data from both in- and ex-reactor experiments. FASTGRASS was chosen over other fission-gas behavior models because of its availability, its compatibility with the LIFE-4 calculational framework, and its predictive capability.