THERMODYNAMIC AND KINETIC MODELING OF ADVANCED NUCLEAR FUELS - FINAL LDRD-ER REPORT

Technical Report · Mon Nov 28 00:00:00 EST 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1033746· OSTI ID:1033746

Turchi, P

This project enhanced our theoretical capabilities geared towards establishing the basic science of a high-throughput protocol for the development of advanced nuclear fuel that should couple modern computational materials modeling and simulation tools, fabrication and characterization capabilities, and targeted high throughput performance testing experiments. The successful conclusion of this ER project allowed us to upgrade state-of-the-art modeling codes, and apply these modeling tools to ab initio energetics and thermodynamic assessments of phase diagrams of various mixtures of actinide alloys, propose a tool for optimizing composition of complex alloys for specific properties, predict diffusion behavior in diffusion couples made of actinide and transition metals, include one new equation in the LLNL phase-field AMPE code, and predict microstructure evolution during alloy coring. In FY11, despite limited funding, the team also initiated an experimental activity, with collaboration from Texas A&M University by preparing samples of nuclear fuels in bulk forms and for diffusion couple studies and metallic matrices, and performing preliminary characterization.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 1033746
• Report Number(s): LLNL-TR-516857; TRN: US1200660
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ACTINIDE ALLOYS
ACTINIDES
ALLOYS
DIFFUSION
FABRICATION
KINETICS
LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY
MATRICES
MICROSTRUCTURE
MIXTURES
NUCLEAR FUELS
PERFORMANCE TESTING
PHASE DIAGRAMS
SIMULATION
THERMODYNAMICS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS