Identification and Quantification of Carbon Phases in Conversion Fuel for the Transient Reactor Test Facility
Abstract
As part of an overall effort to convert US research reactors to low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel use, a LEU conversion fuel is being designed for the Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT) at the Idaho National Laboratory. TREAT fuel compacts are comprised of UO2 fuel particles in a graphitic matrix material. In order to refine heat transfer modeling, as well as determine other physical and nuclear characteristics of the fuel, the amount and type of graphite and non-graphite phases within the fuel matrix must be known. In this study, we performed a series of complementary analyses, designed to allow detailed characterization of the graphite and phenolic resin based fuel matrix. Methods included Scanning Electron and Transmission Electron Microscopies, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction, and Dual-Beam Focused Ion Beam Tomography. Our results indicate that no single characterization technique will yield all of the desired information; however, through the use of statistical and empirical data analysis, such as curve fitting, partial least squares regression, volume extrapolation and spectra peak ratios, a degree of certainty for the quantity of each phase can be obtained.
- Authors:
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1358203
- Report Number(s):
- INL/CON-16-37606
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC07-05ID14517
- Resource Type:
- Conference
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Nuclear Fuels and Structural Materials (NFSM-2016), New Orleans, June 12–15, 2016
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 10 SYNTHETIC FUELS; TREAT LEU fuel conversion, Graphite phases, charac
Citation Formats
Steele, Robert, Mata Cruz, Angelica, Dunzik-Gougar, Mary Lou, and van Rooyen, Isabella. Identification and Quantification of Carbon Phases in Conversion Fuel for the Transient Reactor Test Facility. United States: N. p., 2016.
Web.
Steele, Robert, Mata Cruz, Angelica, Dunzik-Gougar, Mary Lou, & van Rooyen, Isabella. Identification and Quantification of Carbon Phases in Conversion Fuel for the Transient Reactor Test Facility. United States.
Steele, Robert, Mata Cruz, Angelica, Dunzik-Gougar, Mary Lou, and van Rooyen, Isabella. 2016.
"Identification and Quantification of Carbon Phases in Conversion Fuel for the Transient Reactor Test Facility". United States. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1358203.
@article{osti_1358203,
title = {Identification and Quantification of Carbon Phases in Conversion Fuel for the Transient Reactor Test Facility},
author = {Steele, Robert and Mata Cruz, Angelica and Dunzik-Gougar, Mary Lou and van Rooyen, Isabella},
abstractNote = {As part of an overall effort to convert US research reactors to low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel use, a LEU conversion fuel is being designed for the Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT) at the Idaho National Laboratory. TREAT fuel compacts are comprised of UO2 fuel particles in a graphitic matrix material. In order to refine heat transfer modeling, as well as determine other physical and nuclear characteristics of the fuel, the amount and type of graphite and non-graphite phases within the fuel matrix must be known. In this study, we performed a series of complementary analyses, designed to allow detailed characterization of the graphite and phenolic resin based fuel matrix. Methods included Scanning Electron and Transmission Electron Microscopies, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction, and Dual-Beam Focused Ion Beam Tomography. Our results indicate that no single characterization technique will yield all of the desired information; however, through the use of statistical and empirical data analysis, such as curve fitting, partial least squares regression, volume extrapolation and spectra peak ratios, a degree of certainty for the quantity of each phase can be obtained.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1358203},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}