Thermal expansion in UO2 determined by high-energy X-ray diffraction

Abstract

Here we present crystallographic analyses of high-energy X-ray diffraction data on polycrystalline UO2 up to the melting temperature. The Rietveld refinements of our X-ray data are in agreement with previous measurements, but are systematically located around the upper bound of their uncertainty, indicating a slightly steeper trend of thermal expansion compared to established values. This observation is consistent with recent first principles calculations.