Daily thermal predictions of the AGR-1 experiment with gas gaps varying with time

A new daily as-run thermal analysis was performed at the Idaho National Laboratory on the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) test experiment number one at the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). This thermal analysis incorporates gas gaps changing with time during the irradiation experiment. The purpose of this analysis was to calculate the daily average temperatures of each compact to compare with experimental results. Post irradiation examination (PIE) measurements of the graphite holder and fuel compacts showed the gas gaps changed from the beginning of life. The control temperature gas gap and the fuel compact - graphite holder gas gaps were modeled with a linear change from the original fabrication gap dimensions to the end of irradiation measurements. A steady-state thermal analysis was performed for each daily calculation with the commercial finite element heat transfer code ABAQUS. These new thermal predictions more closely match the experimental data taken during the experiment than previous analyses. Results are presented comparing normalized compact average temperatures to normalized log(R/B) Kr-85m. The R/B term is the measured release rate divided by the predicted birth rate for the isotope Kr-85m. Correlations between these two normalized values are presented.