Steady-state grain growth in UO2

Abstract

The authors have observed steady-state grain growth in sintered UO{sub 2} pellets of nuclear purity at 2,003 K under H{sub 2}. The behavior of the grain size distribution at different instants is consistent with the grain growth model proposed by one of the authors. The total number of grains was estimated using the Saltykov`s method, and the evolution is in accordance with the model proposed by Rhines and Craig. The parabolic growth law was observed for the mean intercept length with n = 0.4.