Abstract
The development of U-Zr metallic nuclear fuel for fast spectrum reactors is impacted by a lack of mechanistic understanding of the fuel behavior evolution under thermal irradiation conditions, despite previous works providing substantial fuel performance data. This work uses in-situ transmission electron microscopy heating experiments to study phase and microstructural evolution in several unirradiated U-10Zr specimens during rapid heating ramps (from room temperature to 1000 °C). The starting α-U + bcc-(Zr, U) eutectic microstructure began to decompose above 600 °C. The decomposition initiated from the bcc (U,Zr) phase. Similar results were observed for all specimens even when fabricated by different routes (e.g., cold rolled or annealed). The impact of observed microstructure and phase evolutions at high temperatures on fuel fabrication and in-pile fuel transient test was also discussed.
Accepted Version (
Free)
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call