Thermal conductivity of (U,Pu,Np)O 2 solid solutions

Abstract

The thermal conductivities of (U ,Pu ,Np)O 2 solid solutions were studied at temperatures from 900 to 1770 K. Thermal conductivities were obtained from the thermal diffusivity measured by the laser flash method. The thermal conductivities obtained below 1400 K were analyzed with the data of (U,Pu,Am)O 2 obtained previously, assuming that the B-value was constant, and could be expressed by a classical phonon transport model, λ = ( A + BT) −1, A( z 1, z 2) = 3.583 × 10 −1 × z 1 + 6.317 × 10 −2 × z 2 + 1.595 × 10 −2 (m K/W) and B = 2.493 × 10 −4 (m/W), where z 1 and z 2 are the contents of Am- and Np-oxides. It was found that the A-values increased linearly with increasing Np- and Am-oxide contents slightly, and the effect of Np-oxide content on A-values was smaller than that of Am-oxide content. The results obtained from the theoretical calculation based on the classical phonon transport model showed good agreement with the experimental results.