Ambient melting behavior of stoichiometric uranium oxides

Burakovsky, Leonid; Ramsey, Scott D.; Baty, Roy S.

doi:10.3389/fnuen.2023.1215418

Ambient melting behavior of stoichiometric uranium oxides

Journal Article · Wed Jan 03 00:00:00 EST 2024 · Frontiers in Nuclear Engineering

DOI:https://doi.org/10.3389/fnuen.2023.1215418· OSTI ID:2274990

Burakovsky, Leonid; Ramsey, Scott D.; Baty, Roy S.

As UO ₂ is easily oxidized during the nuclear fuel cycle it is important to have a detailed understanding of the structures and properties of the oxidation products. Experimental work over the years has revealed many stable uranium oxides including UO ₂ , U ₄ O ₉ (UO _2.25 ), U ₃ O ₇ (UO _2.33 ), U ₂ O ₅ (UO _2.5 ), U ₃ O ₈ (UO _2.67 ), and UO ₃ , all with a number of different polymorphs. These oxides are broadly split into two categories, fluorite-based structures with stoichiometries in the range of UO ₂ to UO _2.5 and less dense layered-type structures with stoichiometries in the range of UO _2.5 to UO ₃ . While UO ₂ is well characterized, both experimentally and computationally, there is a paucity of data concerning higher stoichiometry oxides in the literature. In this work we determine the ambient melting points of all the six stoichiometric uranium oxides listed above and compare them to the available experimental and/or theoretical data. We demonstrate that a family of the six ambient melting points map out a solid-liquid transition boundary consistent with the high-temperature portion of the phase diagram of uranium-oxygen system suggested by Babelot et al.

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Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

OSTI ID:: 2274990

Journal Information:: Frontiers in Nuclear Engineering, Journal Name: Frontiers in Nuclear Engineering Vol. 2; ISSN 2813-3412

Publisher:: Frontiers Media SACopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: Switzerland

Language:: English

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