Abstract
The solubilities of uranium dioxide and zirconium dioxide were experimentally determined in silicate melts at temperatures ranging from 1473 to 1823 K. The solubility of UO 2 and ZrO 2 in basaltic melts could be expressed as a linear function of temperature and was found to by three times greater than the solubilities determined for granitic or granodioritic melts. Preservation of uranium-rich glasses from melts held at temperatures ⩾ 1673 K was accomplished only by a rapid quenching of the sample (100 K s −1). Precipitation of cubic magnesium uranate from these melts at lower cooling rates (2 K s −1) places severe limits upon the practical use of natural silicates rocks as sacrificial barrier material in a passive core retention system.
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