FISSION-PRODUCT RELEASE FROM (Th,U)C$sub 2$-GRAPHITE FUELS

Technical Report · Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1962

OSTI ID:4728980

Zumwalt, L R; Anderson, E E; Gethard, P E

Xe retention at first, but degradation occurred as high fuel burnup was achieved. Ba was found to permeate pyrolytic C coatings which were impermeable to Xe, particularly at temperatures above 1400 deg C. Retention of I/sub 2/ and Te by C coatings, although not quite as good as Xe retention, was much better than I/sub 2/ and Te retention by uncoated (Th,U)C/sub 2/ particles. In postirradiation annealing runs, the rate of release of Xe/sup 133/ from coated and uncoated (Th,U)C/sub 2/ fuels was measured at 1000 to 1700 deg C. The release of Ba/sup 14-/, Te/sup 131/, and I/sup 131/ was also determined for lightly irradiated samples. Xe/sup 133/ release was interpreted in terms of the equivalent spheres'' approach. Release rates for shorthalf-life Xe predicted by this treatment are in approximate agreement with steady-state Xe/sup 138/ and Xe/ sup 139/ release rates obtained out-of-pile for uncoated (Th,U)C/sub 2/ particles by using an electron linear accelerator to produce a steady rate of photofissions. Data for Kr/sup 85m/, Kr/sup 87/, Kr/sup 88/, and Kr/sup were also obtained in these out-of-pile experiments. Inpile experiments on samples of coated particles were performed to determine the effects of high fuel burnup and temperature on the retention of Kr and Xe fission-product nuclides. Activation energies for release were found to be about 29 kcal/mole for Kr and 39 kcal/mole for Xe. (auth)

• Research Organization: General Atomic Div. General Dynamics Corp., San Diego, Calif.
• DOE Contract Number: AT(04-3)-314
• NSA Number: NSA-17-014889
• OSTI ID: 4728980
• Report Number(s): GA-3599
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-63
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

METALS, CERAMICS, AND OTHER MATERIALS
ACCELERATORS
ACTIVATION
ADSORPTION
ANNEALING
BARIUM
BURNUP
CARBON
COATING
ELECTRONS
ENERGY
FISSION PRODUCTS
FUEL ELEMENTS
GRAPHITE
HALF- LIFE
HIGH TEMPERATURE
IODINE
IODINE 131
ISOTOPES
KRYPTON
KRYPTON 85
KRYPTON 87
KRYPTON 88
KRYPTON 89
MEASURED VALUES
PARTICLES
PHOTOFISSION
TELLURIUM
TELLURIUM 132
TEMPERATURE
THORIUM CARBIDES
URANIUM CARBIDES
XENON
XENON 133
XENON 138
XENON 139