Bubble morphology in U₃Si₂ implanted by high-energy Xe ions at 300 °C

Journal Article · 01 August 2017 · Journal of Nuclear Materials

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2017.07.066 · OSTI ID:1393840

Miao, Yinbin ^[1]; Harp, Jason  ^[2]; Mo, Kun ^[1]; Zhu, Shaofei ^[1]; Yao, Tiankai ^[3]; Lian, Jie ^[3]; Yacout, Abdellatif M. ^[1]

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1. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
2. Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
3. Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., Troy, NY (United States)

The microstructure modifications of a high-energy Xe implanted U₃Si₂, a promising accident tolerant fuel candidate, were characterized and are reported upon. The U₃Si₂ pellet was irradiated at Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System (ATLAS) by an 84 MeV Xe ion beam at 300 °C. The irradiated specimen was then investigated using a series of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. A dense distribution of bubbles were observed near the range of the 84 MeV Xe ions. Xe gas was also found to accumulate at multiple types of sinks, such as dislocations and grain boundaries. Bubbles aggregated at those sinks are slightly larger than intragranular bubbles in lattice. At 300 °C, the gaseous swelling strain is limited as all the bubbles are below 10 nm, implying the promising fission gas behavior of U₃Si₂ under normal operating conditions in light water reactors (LWRs).

• Research Organization: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357; NE0008564
• OSTI ID: 1393840
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1495578
• Journal Information: Journal of Nuclear Materials, Journal Name: Journal of Nuclear Materials Journal Issue: C Vol. 495; ISSN 0022-3115
• Publisher: ElsevierCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English