Microstructure Investigations of U{sub 3}Si{sub 2} Irradiated by Heavy Ions at LWR Temperatures
- Argonne National Laboratory: 9700 S Cass Ave, Lemont, Illinois, 60439 (United States)
- Idaho National Laboratory, 1995 N Fremont Ave, Idaho Falls, Idaho, 83415 (United States)
- Northwestern University, 633 Clark Street, Evenston, Illinois, 60208 (United States)
Searching for a nuclear fuel material with enhanced accident tolerance compared to the conventional UO{sub 2} fuel is one of the key objectives of the accident tolerant fuel (ATF) campaign. Having both high thermal conductivity and high uranium load, U{sub 3}Si{sub 2} is expected to provide lower operating temperature/stored energy and advantageous neutron economy as a light water reactor (LWR) fuel material. Therefore, U{sub 3}Si{sub 2} has been regarded as a promising candidate fuel material by the ATF community. To evaluate the qualification of U{sub 3}Si{sub 2} as an ATF fuel in LWRs, its fuel performance during both steady-state operation and power transients must be well understood. As a typical nuclear fuel material applied in research reactors, the fuel performance of U{sub 3}Si{sub 2} at low temperatures (<300 deg. C) has been extensively studied through both experimental and computational approaches. However, under LWR conditions, the temperature of U{sub 3}Si{sub 2} can go beyond 600 deg. C. In that case, the references collected in U{sub 3}Si{sub 2}'s applications in research reactors are inadequate for the validation of U{sub 3}Si{sub 2} as an LWR ATF. Experimental efforts that are dedicated to the LWR conditions must be made to help examine U{sub 3}Si{sub 2}'s qualifications as well as provide valuable references for the development related models in advanced fuel performance code. Gaseous fission products accumulate in nuclear fuel during operation and form fission gas bubbles. The evolution of those fission gas bubbles results in increase of volume (swelling), degradation of thermal conductivity, and eventually fission gas release, compromising the integrity and performance of fuel elements in multiple aspects. Hence, fission gas behavior is one of the most important components of fuel performance. In-pile irradiation and corresponding post-irradiation examinations (PIEs) undoubtedly provide most reliable information on the actual performance of a nuclear fuel. However, the high cost and long lead time involved in in-pile irradiation limit its wide applications. On the other hand, heavy ion irradiation is capable of simulating the neutron effects on materials, especially the behavior of energetic fission fragments in nuclear fuel materials, to a considerable extent. Therefore, heavy ion irradiation was used in this study to investigate the microstructural evolution of U{sub 3}Si{sub 2} under LWR-temperature irradiation, focusing on the difference from low temperature irradiation and fission gas behavior.
- OSTI ID:
- 23047423
- Journal Information:
- Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, Vol. 116; Conference: 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Nuclear Society, San Francisco, CA (United States), 11-15 Jun 2017; Other Information: Country of input: France; 6 refs.; available from American Nuclear Society - ANS, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (US); ISSN 0003-018X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ACCIDENT-TOLERANT NUCLEAR FUELS
FISSION
FISSION FRAGMENTS
FISSION PRODUCT RELEASE
FISSION PRODUCTS
FUEL ELEMENTS
HEAVY IONS
IRRADIATION
MICROSTRUCTURE
NEUTRON FLUX
NEUTRONS
PERFORMANCE
RESEARCH REACTORS
STORED ENERGY
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
URANIUM
URANIUM DIOXIDE
URANIUM SILICIDES
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS