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Title: Non destructive examination of UN / U-Si fuel pellets using neutrons (preliminary assessment)

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1245561· OSTI ID:1245561

Tomographic imaging and diffraction measurements were performed on nine pellets; four UN/ U Si composite formulations (two enrichment levels), three pure U3Si5 reference formulations (two enrichment levels) and two reject pellets with visible flaws (to qualify the technique). The U-235 enrichments ranged from 0.2 to 8.8 wt.%. The nitride/silicide composites are candidate compositions for use as Accident Tolerant Fuel (ATF). The monophase U3Si5 material was included as a reference. Pellets from the same fabrication batches will be inserted in the Advanced Test Reactor at Idaho during 2016. The goal of the Advanced Non-destructive Fuel Examination work package is the development and application of non-destructive neutron imaging and scattering techniques to ceramic and metallic nuclear fuels. Data reported in this report were collected in the LANSCE run cycle that started in September 2015 and ended in March 2016. Data analysis is ongoing; thus, this report provides a preliminary review of the measurements and provides an overview of the characterized samples.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
DOE Contract Number:
AC52-06NA25396
OSTI ID:
1245561
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-16-22179; TRN: US1601239
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English