Study on the Shaping and Irradiation of Uranium Monocarbide; ETUDE DE LA MISE EN FORME ET DE L'IRRADIATION DU MONOCARBURE D'URANIUM
ABS>An investigation was conducted to gather experimental knowledge and technological information on the in-pile behavior of uranium carbide, considered as a nuclear fuel, and to investigate a method of shaping by reaction extrusion. It was possible to carry out a single irradiation of a cartridge containing natural uranium carbide, with 4.6% carbon, in the form of rings and prepared by reaction sintering under pressure, at an average flux of 3 x 10/sup 13/ n/cm/sup 2/ sec for 89 days at a temperature of 500-600 deg C, the burnup attaining 700 Mwd/t. Under these experimental conditions the uranium-carbide behavior was entirely satisfactory. Hot-state fission-gas extraction tests were carried out on small uranium -- carbide sample s of the pencil lead'' type after irradiation in the EL-2 reactor. The results show the apparent diffusion coefflcient of pressure-sintered uranium carbide to be slightly lower than that of UO/sub 2/. The work done on the reaction-extrusion study revealed that whereas it is possible to obtain dense uranlum-carbide products at carbon contents of up to 3%, it is much more difficult to reach high densities at near- stoichiometric contents. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- France. Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique, Paris; Trefileries et Laminoirs du Havre, France
- NSA Number:
- NSA-18-014356
- OSTI ID:
- 4085828
- Report Number(s):
- EUR-471.f; EURAEC-496
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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