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Mixing of Al Into Uranium Silicides Reactor Fuels

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

Fu-Rong Ding ,
R. C. Birtcher ,
B. J. Kestel  and
P. M. Baldo
Fu-Rong Ding
Affiliation:
Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL. 60439 Department of Technical Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P.R.China.
R. C. Birtcher
Affiliation:
Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL. 60439 Department of Technical Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P.R.China.
B. J. Kestel
Affiliation:
Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL. 60439 Department of Technical Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P.R.China.
P. M. Baldo
Affiliation:
Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL. 60439 Department of Technical Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P.R.China.
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Abstract

SEM observations have shown that irradiation induced interaction of the aluminum cladding with uranium silicide reactor fuels strongly affects both fission gas and fuel swelling behaviors during fuel burn-up. We have used ion beam mixing, by 1.5 MeV Kr, to study this phenomena. RBS and the 27 A1( p, γ) 28 Si resonance nuclear reaction to was used to measure radiation induced mixing of Al into U3Si and U3Si2 after irradiation at 300γ;C.

Initially U mixes into the Al layer and Al mixes into the U3 Si. At a low doses, the Al layer is converted into Ual4 type compound while near the interface the phase U(Al93 Si. 07 )3 grows. Under irradiation, Al diffuses out of the Ual4 surface layer, and the lower density ternary, which is stable under irradiation, is the final product. Al mixing into U3 Si2 is slower than in U3 Si, but after high dose irradiation the Al concentration extends much father into the bulk. In both systems Al mixing and diffusion is controlled by phase formation and growth. The Al mixing rates into the two alloys are similar to that of Al into pure uranium where similar aluminide phases are formed.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 439: Symposium B – Microstructure Evolution During Irradiation , 1996 , 413
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1997

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References

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