Ternary Phase Diagrams that Relate to the Plutonium Immobilization Ceramic
The plutonium immobilization ceramic consists primarily of a pyrochlore titanate phase of the approximate composition Ca{sub 0.97}Hf{sub 0.17}Pu{sub 0.22}U{sub 0.39}Gd{sub 0.24} Ti{sub 2}O{sub 7}. In this study, a series of ternary phase diagrams was constructed to evaluate the relationship of various titanate phases (e.g., brannerite, zirconolite-2M, zirconolite-4M, and perovskite) to pyrochlore titanates, usually in the presence of excess TiO{sub 2} (rutile), and at temperatures in the vicinity of 1350 C. To facilitate the studies, U, Th, and Ce were used as surrogates for Pu in a number of the phase diagrams in addition to the use of Pu itself. The effects of impurity oxides, Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} and MgO, were also studied on pyrochlore (Gd{sub 2}Ti{sub 2}O{sub 7}) and zirconolite (CaHfTi{sub 2}O{sub 7}) mixtures. Either electron microprobe (at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) or quantitative SEM-EDS (at Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization) were used to evaluate the compositions of the phases.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 15013284
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-ID-143170; TRN: US200802%%1128
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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