Mathematical Modeling of Contact Interaction of Fuel Section Elements, Including up to 350 Pellets, Considering Creep

In this paper, a quasi-stationary multi-contact thermomechanics problem is formulated and an algorithm for its numerical solution is developed, considering the gap between bodies and creep. The mortar methodology is utilized to consider the contact interaction. On the other hand, the modified Jacobi technique is employed to solve the scheme of linear equations arising throughout finite element discretization of the problem. The creep deformations development problem is solved numerically through the trapezoidal rule with linearization by the Newton's method. The proposed algorithm is applied to the problem modelling the processes in a fuel element section, including up to 350 pellets and operating in a constant heat dissipation mode.