Simulated Fission Gas Behavior in Silicide Fuel at LWR Conditions

Technical Report · Thu Sep 15 00:00:00 EDT 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1327833· OSTI ID:1327833

Miao, Yinbin ^[1]; Mo, Kun ^[1]; Yacout, Abdellatif ^[1]; Harp, Jason ^[1]

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1. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

As a promising candidate for the accident tolerant fuel (ATF) used in light water reactors (LWRs), the fuel performance of uranium silicide (U₃Si₂) at LWR conditions needs to be well-understood. However, existing experimental post-irradiation examination (PIE) data are limited to the research reactor conditions, which involve lower fuel temperature compared to LWR conditions. This lack of appropriate experimental data significantly affects the development of fuel performance codes that can precisely predict the microstructure evolution and property degradation at LWR conditions, and therefore evaluate the qualification of U₃Si₂ as an AFT for LWRs. Considering the high cost, long timescale, and restrictive access of the in-pile irradiation experiments, this study aims to utilize ion irradiation to simulate the inpile behavior of the U₃Si₂ fuel. Both in situ TEM ion irradiation and ex situ high-energy ATLAS ion irradiation experiments were employed to simulate different types of microstructure modifications in U₃Si₂. Multiple PIE techniques were used or will be used to quantitatively analyze the microstructure evolution induced by ion irradiation so as to provide valuable reference for the development of fuel performance code prior to the availability of the in-pile irradiation data.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 1327833
• Report Number(s): ANL/NE-16/14; 130503; TRN: US1700328
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ACCIDENT-TOLERANT NUCLEAR FUELS
URANIUM SILICIDES
FISSION PRODUCTS
IRRADIATION
IONS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
MICROSTRUCTURE
PERFORMANCE
WATER COOLED REACTORS
EVOLUTION
SIMULATION
POST-IRRADIATION EXAMINATION
MODIFICATIONS
PHYSICAL RADIATION EFFECTS