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Title: Physical Property Changes in Plutonium Observed from Accelerated Aging using Pu-238 Enrichment

Conference ·
OSTI ID:21083708
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  1. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California (United States)

We present changes in volume, immersion density, and tensile property observed from accelerated aged plutonium alloys. Accelerated alloys (or spiked alloys) are plutonium alloys enriched with approximately 7.5 weight percent of the faster-decaying {sup 238}Pu to accelerate the aging process by approximately 17 times the rate of un-aged weapons-grade plutonium. After sixty equivalent years of aging on spiked alloys, the dilatometry shows the samples at 35 C have swelled in volume by 0.15 to 0.17 % and now exhibit a near linear volume increase due to helium in-growth. The immersion density of spiked alloys shows decrease in density, similar normalized volumetric changes (expansion) for spiked alloys. Tensile tests show increasing yield and engineering ultimate strength as spiked alloys are aged. (authors)

Research Organization:
Materials Research Society, 506 Keystone Drive, Warrendale, PA, 15086-7573 (United States)
OSTI ID:
21083708
Resource Relation:
Conference: Symposium Actinides 2006 - Basic Science, Applications and Technology, Boston, MA (United States), 26-30 Nov 2006; Other Information: Country of input: France; Related Information: In: Proceedings of the symposium Actinides 2006 - Basic Science, Applications and Technology, by Blobaum, Kerri J.M. [ed. CMS, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California (United States)]; Chandler, Elaine A. [ed. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)]; Havela, Ladislav [ed. Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Prague (Czech Republic)]; Maple, M. Brian [ed. University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California (United States)]; Neu, Mary P. [ed. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos NM (United States)], v. 986, 209 pages.
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English