Impact of grain boundary and surface diffusion on predicted fission gas bubble behavior and release in UO₂ fuel

In this work, we quantify the impact of grain boundary (GB) and surface diffusion on fission gas bubble evolution and fission gas release in UO₂ nuclear fuel using simulations with a hybrid phase field/cluster dynamics model. We begin with a comprehensive literature review of uranium vacancy and xenon atom diffusivity in UO₂ through the bulk, along GBs, and along surfaces. In our model we represent fast GB and surface diffusion using a heterogeneous diffusivity that is a function of the order parameters that represent bubbles and grains. We find that the GB diffusivity directly impacts the rate of gas release via GB transport, and that the GB diffusivity is likely below 10⁴ times the lower value from Olander and van Uffelen (2001). We also find that the surface diffusivity impacts bubble coalescence and mobility, and that the bubble surface diffusivity is likely below 10⁻⁴ times the value from Zhou and Olander (1984).