Assessing the PLEIADES/GERMINAL V3 fuel performance code against transmutation experiments in sodium fast reactors

We present the results of a first assessment of the multiphysics PLEIADES/GERMINAL V3 fuel performance code against integral irradiation experiments of americium-bearing MOX fuel pins irradiated in sodium fast reactors. The pins considered in this work cover a range of americium contents from 2 to 5 weight %, being representative for the homogeneous transmutation path. The code predictions are compared to several post-irradiation examination results on integral (e.g., fission gas release) and local quantities (e.g., actinides redistribution in the fuel pellet), and demonstrate a satisfactory agreement with experimental data. The deviations between calculated and experimental quantities shed some light on modeling developments needed to better calculate the behavior of americium-bearing mixed-oxides fuel pins under irradiation.