Diffusion behaviors between Fe and Pd-containing metallic fuel

Conference · Sun Jun 09 04:00:00 EDT 2019

OSTI ID:1559972

Xie, Yi ^[1]; Benson, Michael T ^[1]; He, Lingfeng ^[1]; King, James A ^[1]

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1. Idaho National Laboratory

Historical interest in metallic fuel, including U-Zr and U-Pu-Zr, is due to the high thermal conductivity, high burnup capability, high fissile atom density, and good compatibility with the coolant in sodium-cooled fast reactor conditions. The notable fuel application issue is the fuel-cladding chemical interaction (FCCI). The major cause of FCCI is the lanthanide fission products that migrate to the fuel periphery and deposit on the fuel cladding. Chemical interactions between the lanthanides and cladding will result in a cladding breach. Thus additives were sought that would immobilize the lanthanides by forming stable additive-lanthanide compounds. Palladium (Pd) is being explored as a potential additive. The microstructure of metallic fuels, including U-Zr and U-Pu-Zr, with Pd addition have been characterized. The post-irradiation examination on the U-13Zr-4Pd wt% alloy has found a pronounced effect of Pd on the fuel-cladding interface. The current study performed preliminary tests of diffusion couple and microstructure analysis, in order to investigate the chemical interactions between cladding and fuel with Pd addition.

• Research Organization: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-05ID14517
• OSTI ID: 1559972
• Report Number(s): INL/CON-19-52467-Rev000
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
Diffusion
FCCI mitigation
Fuel additive
Metallic fuel
Transmutation fuel