Post-irradiation examination of UN-Mo-W fuels for space nuclear propulsion

Khan, Sarah A.; Schulthess, Jason L.; Charit, Indrajit; Craft, Aaron E.; Chuirazzi, William; Burns, Jatuporn; Frazer, David; Woolstenhulme, Nicolas; O'Brien, Robert

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155476

Post-irradiation examination of UN-Mo-W fuels for space nuclear propulsion

Journal Article · Mon Oct 28 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · Journal of Nuclear Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.155476· OSTI ID:2557520

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Univ. of Idaho, Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Univ. of Idaho, Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's return to space nuclear propulsion stems from the need for a more efficient method of space travel. Nuclear thermal propulsion systems have been shown to be two times more efficient than chemical propulsion. NASA's Sirius program was created to fabricate and test fuels for space nuclear propulsion, specifically to determine their performance under prototypical startup conditions. The Sirius project featured 4 test capsules, Sirius-1 featured uranium nitride fuel dispersed in a matrix of tungsten and rhenium, while Sirius-2A, -2B, and -3 featured uranium nitride-molybdenum-tungsten fuel (UN-Mo-W). This study discusses the Sirius-2A and -2B irradiation experiments at the Idaho National Laboratory, specifically their performance under irradiation at the Transient Reactor Test Facility. It was found that the fuel samples overall did not exhibit significant cracking, though the Sirius-2A fuel did have one large crack on the surface of the fuel. There was minimal hydrogen absorption in the samples, though it is unknown if the absorption occurred during irradiation or during fabrication. Mechanical testing indicated that the UN fuel demonstrated ceramic behavior as expected, and the Mo/W matrix demonstrated linear elastic behavior to failure.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC07-05ID14517

OSTI ID:: 2557520

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2475529

Report Number(s):: INL/JOU--24-76552-Rev000

Journal Information:: Journal of Nuclear Materials, Journal Name: Journal of Nuclear Materials Vol. 604; ISSN 0022-3115

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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