Analysis of irradiated U-7wt%Mo dispersion fuel microstructures using automated image processing
The High Performance Research Reactor Fuel Development (HPPRFD) program is responsible for developing low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel substitutes for high performance reactors fueled with highly enriched uranium (HEU) that have not yet been converted to LEU. The uranium-molybdenum (U-Mo) fuel system was selected for this effort. In this study, fission gas pore segmentation was performed on U-7wt%Mo dispersion fuel samples at three separate fission densities using an automated image processing interface developed in MATLAB. Pore size distributions were attained that showed both expected and unexpected fission gas behavior. In general, it proved challenging to identify any dominant trends when comparing fission bubble data across samples from different fuel plates due to varying compositions and fabrication techniques. Here, the results exhibited fair agreement with the fission density vs. porosity correlation developed by the Russian reactor conversion program.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC07-05ID14517
- OSTI ID:
- 1294498
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1341165
- Report Number(s):
- INL/JOU-15-35414; PII: S0022311516301015
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 475, Issue C; ISSN 0022-3115
- Publisher:
- ElsevierCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
Determination of the degree of grain refinement in irradiated U-Mo fuels
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journal | December 2018 |
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