Suppressed thermal conductivity in hyperstoichiometric uranium dioxide controlled by phonon lifetimes

Ma, Hao; Bryan, Matthew S.; Pang, Judy W. L.; Abernathy, Douglas L.; Antonio, Daniel J.; Gofryk, Krzysztof; Manley, Michael E.

doi:10.1063/5.0096655

Suppressed thermal conductivity in hyperstoichiometric uranium dioxide controlled by phonon lifetimes

Journal Article · Thu Jul 07 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0096655· OSTI ID:1878677

^[1]; Bryan, Matthew S. ^[1]; Pang, Judy W. L. ^[1]; ^[1]; Antonio, Daniel J. ^[2]; ^[2]; ^[1]

Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

Thermal transport in nuclear fuels used for nuclear energy applications is directly tied to performance and reliability. Uranium dioxide (UO₂), one of the most important nuclear fuels, can accumulate excess oxygen atoms as interstitial defects, which significantly impacts thermal transport properties. In this study, thermal conductivities and inelastic neutron scattering (INS) measurements on UO₂₊_x were performed at low temperatures (2–300K). The thermal conductivity of UO₂₊_x (x = 0, 0.03, 0.04, and 0.11) is significantly suppressed compared to UO₂ except near the Néel temperature T_N = 30.8 K, where it is independent of x. INS measurements demonstrate that the heat capacities and phonon group velocities of UO₂ and UO_2.08 are similar, and the suppressed thermal conductivity results from smaller phonon lifetimes. These perceptions advance our understanding of thermal transport properties in advanced nuclear fuels and guide safe and economic utilization of nuclear energy.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725; AC07-05ID14517

OSTI ID:: 1878677

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1875322
OSTI ID: 1923790

Report Number(s):: INL/JOU-22-66999-Rev000

Journal Information:: Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 121; ISSN 0003-6951

Publisher:: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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