Comparative study on the properties of UO<SUB align=right>2 produced by direct reduction of ADU and reduction of calcined product of ADU

Abstract

The characteristics of UO2 powder are crucial for production of both UO2 based fuel and uranium based metallic and alloy fuel. Depending upon the usage as UO2 based fuel or as metallic uranium based fuel, the desired quality parameters of UO2 are different. The UO2 powder was produced by two different methods: (1) by the reduction of the thermal decomposed product of ammonium diuranate and (2) by the direct reduction of ammonium diuranate. Oxygen to uranium ratio (O/U), specific surface area (SSA) and crystal structure of UO2 powder produced by these two methods were studied.