Irradiation-enhanced diffusion and diffusion-limited creep in U3Si2

Cooper, Michael William Donald; Gamble, Kyle A.; Capolungo, Laurent; Matthews, Christopher; Andersson, Anders David Ragnar; Beeler, Benjamin; Stanek, Christopher Richard; Metzger, Kallie

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2021.153129

Irradiation-enhanced diffusion and diffusion-limited creep in U₃Si₂

Journal Article · Sat Jun 12 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · Journal of Nuclear Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2021.153129· OSTI ID:1798121

^[1]; Gamble, Kyle A. ^[2]; ^[1]; ^[1]; ^[1]; Beeler, Benjamin ^[3]; ^[1]; Metzger, Kallie ^[4]

Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States)
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC, Cranberry Columbia, SC (United States)

U₃Si₂ is an advanced fuel candidate due to its relatively high fissile density and attractive thermal properties. Compared to standard UO₂ fuel, there are significant data gaps for the thermophysical and thermomechanical properties of U₃Si₂. Point defect concentrations and mobilities under irradiation govern a number of important fuel performance properties, such as creep and fission gas release. In this work, we utilized density functional theory (DFT) data to inform a cluster dynamics framework to predict point defect concentrations in U₃Si₂ under irradiation. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to examine the contribution of atomic mixing during ballistic cascades to diffusion, as well as the diffusivity of U and Si at grain boundaries. These atomic scale models for diffusivity were then used to inform a creep model based on bulk (Nabarro-Herring) and grain boundary (Coble) diffusional creep, and climb-limited dislocation creep. The model compares well against available experimental data and has been implemented in the BISON fuel performance code. Finally, a demonstration case using simple power profiles has been carried out, showing that negligible creep occurs due to the low temperatures experienced by U₃Si₂ in-reactor, a consequence of its high thermal conductivity.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

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

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: 89233218CNA000001

OSTI ID:: 1798121

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1806236

Report Number(s):: LA-UR--21-22052

Journal Information:: Journal of Nuclear Materials, Journal Name: Journal of Nuclear Materials Vol. 555; ISSN 0022-3115

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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