Microstructure investigations of U 3 Si 2 implanted by high-energy Xe ions at 600 °C

Journal Article · Tue May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Journal of Nuclear Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2018.02.031· OSTI ID:1460816

Miao, Yinbin; Harp, Jason ; Mo, Kun; Kim, Yeon Soo; Zhu, Shaofei; Yacout, Abdellatif M.

The microstructure investigations on a high-energy Xe-implanted U3Si2 pellet were performed. The promising accident tolerant fuel (ATF) candidate, U3Si2, was irradiated by 84 MeV Xe ions at 600 degrees C at Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System (ATLAS). The characterizations of the Xe implanted sample were conducted using advanced transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. An oxidation layer was observed on the sample surface after irradiation under the similar to 10(-5) Pa vacuum. The study on the oxidation layer not only unveils the readily oxidation behavior of U3Si2 under high-temperature irradiation conditions, but also develops an understanding of its oxidation mechanism. Intragranular Xe bubbles with bimodal size distribution were observed within the Xe deposition region of the sample induced by 84 MeV Xe ion implantation. At the irradiation temperature of 600 degrees C, the gaseous swelling strain contributed by intragranular bubbles was found to be insignificant, indicating an acceptable fission gas behavior of U3Si2 as a light water reactor (LWR) fuel operating at such a temperature.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy - Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 1460816
• Journal Information: Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 503, Issue C; ISSN 0022-3115
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English