Experimental assessment of antimony (Sb) in pure uranium for immobilizing fission product lanthanides

JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS

卷:534

Article

Zhuo, Weiqian¹  Xie, Yi²  Benson, Michael T.²  Wu, Huali¹  Mariani, Robert D.²  Zhang, Jinsuo¹ 

[1] Virginia Polytech Inst & State Univ, Dept Mech Engn, Nucl Engn Program, Blacksburg, VA 24061 USA

[2] Idaho Natl Lab, POB 1625,MS 6188, Idaho Falls, MS 83415 USA

关键词: Metal fuel;    Additive antimony;    Diffusion couple tests;    SEM/EDS;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152135

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

The use of fuel additives is one of the concepts to mitigate fuel cladding chemical interaction (FCCI) for metallic fuel because fission product lanthanides are expected to be immobilized by the additive. Antimony (Sb) has been found to be a good additive candidate for UZr fuel. The present study focuses on the immobilization mechanism in pure uranium. Ue(4)Sb alloy was fabricated to understand the behavior of Sb, while Ue(4)Sbe(4)Ce was fabricated to simulate the condition when lanthanides are generated. The as-cast alloys were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS). UeSb precipitates are formed in Ue(4)Sb alloy, while UeSb and CeeSb precipitates were found in Ue(4)Sbe(4)Ce alloy. The alloys that were heated under 650 degrees C for 500 h were also characterized by SEM/EDS and the results shows that the thermal exposure does not change the morphologies or chemical composition of the Sb-precipitates (UeSb and CeeSb precipitates). In addition, diffusion couple tests between those alloys and cladding materials (Fe or HT9) under 650 degrees C for 500 h were performed and the samples were then analyzed using SEM/EDS. The reactions between cladding and uranium were found, while there was no reaction between Sb-precipitates and cladding materials. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

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