Influence of boron isotope ratio on the thermal conductivity of uranium diboride (UB2) and zirconium diboride (ZrB2)

Evitts, Lee J.; Middleburgh, Simon C.; Kardoulaki, Erofili; Ipatova, Iuliia; Rushton, Michael J. D.; Lee, W. E.

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.151892

Influence of boron isotope ratio on the thermal conductivity of uranium diboride (UB₂) and zirconium diboride (ZrB₂)

Journal Article · Fri Nov 15 23:00:00 EST 2019 · Journal of Nuclear Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.151892· OSTI ID:1576937

Evitts, Lee J. ^[1]; Middleburgh, Simon C. ^[1]; Kardoulaki, Erofili ^[2]; Ipatova, Iuliia ^[1]; Rushton, Michael J. D. ^[1]; Lee, W. E. ^[3]

Bangor Univ., Gwynedd (United Kingdom). Nuclear Futures Inst.
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Bangor Univ., Gwynedd (United Kingdom). Nuclear Futures Inst.; Imperial College London, London (United Kingdom). Inst. for Security Science and Technology

Uranium diboride is being proposed as an accident tolerant fuel (either as a part of a composite or an ¹¹B enriched monolithic fuel pellet), while zirconium diboride is often selected as a burnable absorber in conjunction with uranium dioxide fuel pellets. It is therefore important to understand the thermal properties of these materials and examine methods in which they may be improved. The thermal conductivity of UB₂ and ZrB₂ is calculated through atomic scale modelling methods. Lastly, it was found that the boron-isotope ratio has a significant impact on the thermal conductivity of ZrB₂, but is negligible for UB₂ due to the large electron-phonon scattering.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)

Grant/Contract Number:: 89233218CNA000001

OSTI ID:: 1576937

Report Number(s):: LA-UR--19-25332

Journal Information:: Journal of Nuclear Materials, Journal Name: Journal of Nuclear Materials Vol. 528; ISSN 0022-3115

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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