A Modified Embedded-Atom Method Interatomic Potential for U-Si

Journal Article · Sat Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2017 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society

OSTI ID:23047439

Beeler, Benjamin; Zhang, Yongfeng ^[1]; Baskes, Michael ^[2]; Andersson, David ^[2]

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1. Idaho National Laboratory, 2525 Fremont Ave, Idaho Falls, ID, 83406 (United States)
2. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States)

Uranium-silicide (U-Si) fuels are being pursued as a possible accident tolerant fuel (ATF). This uranium alloy fuel benefits from higher thermal conductivity and higher fissile density compared to UO{sub 2}. In order to perform engineering scale nuclear fuel performance simulations, the material properties of the fuel must be known. Currently, the experimental data available for U-Si fuels is rather limited. Thus, multiscale modeling efforts are underway to address this gap in knowledge. In this study, a semiempirical modified Embedded Atom Method (MEAM) potential is presented for the description of the U-Si system. The potential accurately describes not only the primary phase of interest (U{sub 3}Si{sub 2}), but also a variety of U-Si phases across the composition spectrum.

• OSTI ID: 23047439
• Journal Information: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society Vol. 116; ISSN 0003-018X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ACCIDENT-TOLERANT NUCLEAR FUELS
ATOMS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
DENSITY
PERFORMANCE
SPECTRA
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
URANIUM ALLOYS
URANIUM DIOXIDE
URANIUM SILICIDES