Some physical and mechanical properties of U-Ru alloys containing 0.05–6 at.% Ru have been investigated in the as-cast and oil-quenched conditions, from 900°C and 720°C. The properties investigated were thermal expansion, crystalline lattice parameters, density and microhardness. As the Ru content increased, the coefficient of dilatation decreased in a manner depending upon the temperature. For the as-cast alloys, the orthorhombic lattice parameters of α-uranium, a, b, and c, decreased as the Ru content increased. For the alloys quenched from 900°C, the b parameter decreased and the a and c parameters increased with Ru content. These changes caused distortion in the unit cell by comparison with the as-cast condition, and produced X-ray line broadening. In the case of alloys quenched from 720°C, the a parameter was not significantly influenced, the b parameter was decreased, and the c parameter increased. The distortion in this case was insufficient to cause line broadening. In the as-cast alloys, the density decreased and the microhardness increased as the Ru content increased. The density of alloys quenched from 720°C was slightly higher than that of the as-cast alloys. Quenching from 900°C produced a greater increase in density than quenching from 720°C. The hardness values of alloys quenched from 720°C were slightly higher than those of the as-cast alloys. Quenching from 900°C produced considerable strengthening, particularly in the high Ru-content alloys.
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