IRRADIATION PERFORMANCE OF U-Mo MONOLITHIC FUEL
High-performance research reactors require fuel that operates at high specific power to high fission density, but at relatively low temperatures. Research reactor fuels are designed for efficient heat rejection, and are composed of assemblies of thin-plates clad in aluminum alloy. The development of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2014-04-01
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| Series: | Nuclear Engineering and Technology |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1738573315301613 |
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| author | M.K. MEYER J. GAN J.F. JUE D.D. KEISER E. PEREZ A. ROBINSON D.M. WACHS N. WOOLSTENHULME G.L. HOFMAN Y.S. KIM |
| author_facet | M.K. MEYER J. GAN J.F. JUE D.D. KEISER E. PEREZ A. ROBINSON D.M. WACHS N. WOOLSTENHULME G.L. HOFMAN Y.S. KIM |
| author_sort | M.K. MEYER |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | High-performance research reactors require fuel that operates at high specific power to high fission density, but at relatively low temperatures. Research reactor fuels are designed for efficient heat rejection, and are composed of assemblies of thin-plates clad in aluminum alloy. The development of low-enriched fuels to replace high-enriched fuels for these reactors requires a substantially increased uranium density in the fuel to offset the decrease in enrichment. Very few fuel phases have been identified that have the required combination of very-high uranium density and stable fuel behavior at high burnup. UMo alloys represent the best known tradeoff in these properties. Testing of aluminum matrix U-Mo aluminum matrix dispersion fuel revealed a pattern of breakaway swelling behavior at intermediate burnup, related to the formation of a molybdenum stabilized high aluminum intermetallic phase that forms during irradiation. In the case of monolithic fuel, this issue was addressed by eliminating, as much as possible, the interfacial area between U-Mo and aluminum. Based on scoping irradiation test data, a fuel plate system composed of solid U-10Mo fuel meat, a zirconium diffusion barrier, and Al6061 cladding was selected for development. Developmental testing of this fuel system indicates that it meets core criteria for fuel qualification, including stable and predictable swelling behavior, mechanical integrity to high burnup, and geometric stability. In addition, the fuel exhibits robust behavior during power-cooling mismatch events under irradiation at high power. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T06:17:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5cca33aac4c6468b96e51245350d4c95 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1738-5733 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T06:17:11Z |
| publishDate | 2014-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nuclear Engineering and Technology |
| spelling | doaj.art-5cca33aac4c6468b96e51245350d4c952022-12-22T00:35:00ZengElsevierNuclear Engineering and Technology1738-57332014-04-0146216918210.5516/NET.07.2014.706IRRADIATION PERFORMANCE OF U-Mo MONOLITHIC FUELM.K. MEYER0J. GAN1J.F. JUE2D.D. KEISER3E. PEREZ4A. ROBINSON5D.M. WACHS6N. WOOLSTENHULME7G.L. HOFMAN8Y.S. KIM9Idaho National Laboratory 2525 Fremont Avenue, Idaho Falls, ID USA – 83415Idaho National Laboratory 2525 Fremont Avenue, Idaho Falls, ID USA – 83415Idaho National Laboratory 2525 Fremont Avenue, Idaho Falls, ID USA – 83415Idaho National Laboratory 2525 Fremont Avenue, Idaho Falls, ID USA – 83415Idaho National Laboratory 2525 Fremont Avenue, Idaho Falls, ID USA – 83415Idaho National Laboratory 2525 Fremont Avenue, Idaho Falls, ID USA – 83415Idaho National Laboratory 2525 Fremont Avenue, Idaho Falls, ID USA – 83415Idaho National Laboratory 2525 Fremont Avenue, Idaho Falls, ID USA – 83415Argonne National Laboratory 9700 S. Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL USA – 60439Argonne National Laboratory 9700 S. Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL USA – 60439High-performance research reactors require fuel that operates at high specific power to high fission density, but at relatively low temperatures. Research reactor fuels are designed for efficient heat rejection, and are composed of assemblies of thin-plates clad in aluminum alloy. The development of low-enriched fuels to replace high-enriched fuels for these reactors requires a substantially increased uranium density in the fuel to offset the decrease in enrichment. Very few fuel phases have been identified that have the required combination of very-high uranium density and stable fuel behavior at high burnup. UMo alloys represent the best known tradeoff in these properties. Testing of aluminum matrix U-Mo aluminum matrix dispersion fuel revealed a pattern of breakaway swelling behavior at intermediate burnup, related to the formation of a molybdenum stabilized high aluminum intermetallic phase that forms during irradiation. In the case of monolithic fuel, this issue was addressed by eliminating, as much as possible, the interfacial area between U-Mo and aluminum. Based on scoping irradiation test data, a fuel plate system composed of solid U-10Mo fuel meat, a zirconium diffusion barrier, and Al6061 cladding was selected for development. Developmental testing of this fuel system indicates that it meets core criteria for fuel qualification, including stable and predictable swelling behavior, mechanical integrity to high burnup, and geometric stability. In addition, the fuel exhibits robust behavior during power-cooling mismatch events under irradiation at high power.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1738573315301613U-MoMonolithic FuelResearch ReactorDispersionIrradiation TestingLow-enriched Uranium |
| spellingShingle | M.K. MEYER J. GAN J.F. JUE D.D. KEISER E. PEREZ A. ROBINSON D.M. WACHS N. WOOLSTENHULME G.L. HOFMAN Y.S. KIM IRRADIATION PERFORMANCE OF U-Mo MONOLITHIC FUEL Nuclear Engineering and Technology U-Mo Monolithic Fuel Research Reactor Dispersion Irradiation Testing Low-enriched Uranium |
| title | IRRADIATION PERFORMANCE OF U-Mo MONOLITHIC FUEL |
| title_full | IRRADIATION PERFORMANCE OF U-Mo MONOLITHIC FUEL |
| title_fullStr | IRRADIATION PERFORMANCE OF U-Mo MONOLITHIC FUEL |
| title_full_unstemmed | IRRADIATION PERFORMANCE OF U-Mo MONOLITHIC FUEL |
| title_short | IRRADIATION PERFORMANCE OF U-Mo MONOLITHIC FUEL |
| title_sort | irradiation performance of u mo monolithic fuel |
| topic | U-Mo Monolithic Fuel Research Reactor Dispersion Irradiation Testing Low-enriched Uranium |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1738573315301613 |
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