Microstructural characterization of annealed U-20Pu-10Zr-3.86Pd and U-20Pu-10Zr-3.86Pd-4.3Ln

Journal Article · Fri Mar 15 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Journal of Nuclear Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.03.014· OSTI ID:1511488

Benson, Michael T.  ^[1]; Xie, Yi  ^[1]; He, Lingfeng  ^[1]; Tolman, Kevin R.  ^[1]; King, James A.  ^[1]; Harp, Jason M.  ^[1]; Mariani, Robert D.  ^[1]; Hernandez, Brandon J.  ^[1]; Murray, Daniel J.  ^[1]; Miller, Brandon D.  ^[1]

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1. Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

Palladium is being investigated as a potential additive to metallic fuel to bind fission product lanthanides, with the goal of reducing or preventing fuel-cladding chemical interactions (FCCI). A primary cause of FCCI is the lanthanide fission products moving to the fuel periphery and interacting with the cladding. This interaction will lead to wastage of the cladding and eventually to a cladding breach. The current study is the microstructural characterization of annealed U-20Pu-10Zr-3.86Pd and U-20Pu-10Zr-3.86Pd-4.3Ln in wt. %, where Ln = 53Nd-25Ce-16Pr-6La, using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). In both alloys, the matrix is comprised of ζ-U_0.4Pu_0.6 and δ-(U,Pu)Zr₂. Based on the matrix compositions, modifications to the room temperature extrapolated U-Pu-Zr ternary phase diagram are suggested. In U-20Pu-10Zr-3.86Pd, there is very little δ phase, due to formation of PdZr₂. In U-20Pu-10Zr-3.86Pd-4.3Ln, a lanthanide-rich phase is present, although it does not have the crystal structure for 53Nd-25Ce-16Pr-6La. Furthermore this phase cannot be identified based on known compounds. (Ln,Pu)Pd is the primary lanthanide phase, with Pu substituting into the crystal structure in place of Nd.

• Research Organization: Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC07-05ID14517
• OSTI ID: 1511488
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1507182
• Report Number(s): INL/JOU-18-51970-Rev000
• Journal Information: Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 518, Issue C; ISSN 0022-3115
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
metallic fuel
FCCI
fuel additive
transmutation fuel