Americium Oxide Surrogate Studies: Pursuing European Radioisotope Power Systems Fuel Form Development

Abstract

The European Space Agency funded programme into the research and development of European radioisotope power systems (RPSs) began in 2008. Three RPS technologies are under development, namely, radioisotope heater units, radioisotope thermoelectric generators, and Stirling generators. Americium (241Am) was selected as the ‘fuel’, which provides radiogenic heat to the RPSs. An essential aspect of the programme is the ability to create an americium oxide fuel form, namely discs or pellets, that meet a range of requirements e.g. intact bodies with relatively high relative densities that allow for He-outgassing. Research with surrogates for americium oxides is essential for investigating the range of variables that influence the ability to achieve this whilst limiting the research with the highly radioactive material. In this study, americium oxide surrogates (e.g. Nd 2 O 3 ) have been created using two different techniques (continuous oxalate precipitation and calcination, and sol-gel and calcination) with the objective of creating particles with differing morphology. Owing to the polymorphism of Nd 2 O 3 , X-ray diffraction is conducted to assess crystal structure phase changes in the powder material to inform sintering studies. The surrogate powders are cold-pressed and sintered to assess the impact on pellet properties e.g. density and integrity. The surrogate fuel study highlights the importance of assessing the impact of particle shape and crystal structure on the ability to meet fuel form requirements, and will inform future research with the americium oxide fuel.