PLUTONIUM USED AS A FUEL IN NUCLEAR REACTORS. Quarterly Report No. 3, January-March 1961

Technical Report · Sat Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1961

OSTI ID:4797457

The various factors affectsng dissolution speeds of PuO/sub 2/ and UO/ sub 2/ --PuO/sub 2/ mixtures were investigated. Kinetic studies of the sintering of UO/sub 2/ --PuO/sub 2/ mixtures showed once more the influence of the O/sub 2/ content of argon on the sintering speed. The study with a view to producing dense and spherical grains was pursued using heating by resistance, plasma-jet, and sifting. A carburetion test by carbon was carried out on PuO/ sub 2/. During the hot swaging of ceramics, a maximum was recorded in the density-temperature'' curve. In addition, densities of 94% were obtained by cold swaging. The Mo and Cr coating of spherical particles by metallization under vacuum, gave good results. The thermal expansion of UO/sub 2/ + 5% PuO/sub 2/ was measured. The TTT diagram of the Zr--Nb 10 alloy was established. Ternary additions to the Zr --Nb 15 alloy did not increase the transformation temperature appreciably. Corrosion studies in water at 300 and 350 deg C were carried out on alloys containing 10, 15, and 20% Nb. These alloys compared favorably with non- alloyed Zr. (auth)

• Research Organization: Societe Belge pour l'Industrie Nucleaire, Brussels
• NSA Number: NSA-16-012735
• OSTI ID: 4797457
• Report Number(s): EURAEC-80
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ARGON
CARBON
CERAMICS
CHROMIUM
COATING
CORROSION
CORROSION PROTECTION
DENSITY
EFFICIENCY
EUTECTICS
EXPANSION
FABRICATION
FISSIONABLE MATERIALS
FUELS
GRAIN SIZE
HEAT TREATMENTS
HEATING
HIGH TEMPERATURE
INERT GASES
MATERIALS TESTING
MEASURED VALUES
METALLURGY
MOLYBDENUM
NIOBIUM ALLOYS
OXYGEN
PHASE DIAGRAMS
PLUTONIUM
PLUTONIUM OXIDES
POWER PLANTS
PRODUCTION
REACTION KINETICS
REACTOR TECHNOLOGY
SINTERED MATERIALS
SINTERING
SOLID SOLUTIONS
SPHERES
TEMPERATURE
URANIUM DIOXIDE
URANIUM OXIDES
VACUUM
WATER
ZIRCONIUM ALLOYS