Jian Gan

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 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.

Microstructure Evolution in ZrC Irradiated with Kr ions

The gas-cooled fast reactor (GFR) is one of six concepts for the Generation-IV nuclear energy system. The fuel for the GFR requires both a high heavy metal loading and the ability to withstand temperatures up to 1600°C during a loss of coolant accident. ZrC is among the few potential refractory ceramic materials with necessary properties to be considered as matrix materials for a dispersed carbide fuel. The radiation response of ZrC to high dose and temperature is a critical research need. This work investigated the microstructure of ZrC irradiated with 1 MeV Kr ions to doses of 10 and 30 dpa at 27°C and 10 and 70 dpa at 800°C with a damage rate approximately 3.0 × 10−3 dpa/s. No radiation-induced amorphization was found. A lattice expansion of approximately 7 % was observed for ZrC irradiated to 70 dpa at 800°C.

SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY ANALYSIS OF FUEL/MATRIX INTERACTION LAYERS IN HIGHLY-IRRADIATED U-Mo DISPERSION FUEL PLATES WITH Al AND Al–Si ALLOY MATRICES

In order to investigate how the microstructure of fuel/matrix-interaction (FMI) layers change during irradiation, different U?7Mo dispersion fuel plates have been irradiated to high fission density and then characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Specifially, samples from irradiated U?7Mo dispersion fuel elements with pure Al, Al?2Si and AA4043 (~4.5 wt.%Si) matrices were SEM characterized using polished samples and samples that were prepared with a focused ion beam (FIB). Features not observable for the polished samples could be captured in SEM images taken of the FIB samples. For the Al matrix sample, a relatively large FMI layer develops, with enrichment of Xe at the FMI layer/Al matrix interface and evidence of debonding. Overall, a significant penetration of Si from the FMI layer into the U?7Mo fuel was observed for samples with Si in the Al matrix, which resulted in a change of the size (larger) and shape (round) of the fission gas bubbles. Additionally, solid fission product phases were observed to nucleate and grow within these bubbles. These changes in the localized regions of the microstructure of the U?7Mo may contribute to changes observed in the macroscopic swelling of fuel plates with Al?Si matrices.

Nano-Scale Fission Product Phases in an Irradiated U-7Mo Alloy Nuclear Fuel

Irradiated nuclear fuel is a very difficult material to characterize. Due to the large radiation fields associated with these materials, they are hard to handle and typically have to be contained in large hot cells. Even the equipment used for performing characterization is housed in hot cells or shielded glove boxes. The result is not only a limitation in the techniques that can be employed for characterization, but also a limitation in the size of features that can be resolved The most standard characterization techniques include light optical metallography (WM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). These techniques are applied to samples that are typically prepared using grinding and polishing approaches that will always generate some mechanical damage on the sample surface. As a result, when performing SEM analysis, for example, the analysis is limited by the quality of the sample surface that can be prepared. However, a new approach for characterizing irradiated nuclear fuel has recently been developed at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho Falls, Idaho. It allows for a dramatic improvement in the quality of characterization that can be performed when using an instrument like an SEM. This new approach uses a dual-beammorexa0» scanning microscope, where one of the beams isa focused ion beam (FIB), which can be used to generate specimens of irradiated fuel (-10µm x 10µm) for microstructural characterization, and the other beam is the electron beam of an SEM. One significant benefit of this approach is that the specimen surface being characterized has received much less damage (and smearing) than is caused by the more traditional approaches, which enables the imaging of nanometerxad sized microstructural features in the SEM. The process details are for an irradiated low-enriched uranium (LEU) U-Mo alloy fuel Another type of irradiated fuel that has been characterized using this technique is a mixed oxide fuel.«xa0less

Transmission Electron Microscopy Investigation of Krypton Bubbles in Polycrystalline CeO2

To gain an understanding of gas bubble transport in oxide nuclear fuel, this paper uses polycrystalline CeO2, composed of both nanograins and micrograins, as a surrogate material for UO2. The CeO2 was implanted with 150-keV Kr ions up to a dose of 1 × 1016 ions/cm2 at 600°C. Transmission electron microscopy characterizations of small Kr bubbles in nanograin and micrograin regions were compared. The grain boundary acted as an efficient defect sink, as evidenced by smaller bubbles and a lower bubble density in the nanograin region as compared to the micrograin region.

Fission Products in Nuclear Fuel: Comparison of Simulated Distribution with Correlative Characterization Techniques

During the fission process in a nuclear reactor, uranium dioxide (UO2) fuel material is irradiated, forming fission products (FPs). The addition of FPs alters the path phonons travel in UO2, detrimentally altering the thermal conductivity of the fuel. [1] To improve fuel performance, a fundamental understanding of the role of insoluble FPs, such as Xenon (Xe), during microstructural evolution is critical. Correlative characterization techniques where atom probe tomography (APT) is paired with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) can provide unique insights into the segregation behavior of FPs. Coupling these techniques with computer simulations of fission product distribution provide deeper understanding of FP migration during service. Although there are limitations with each of these techniques in isolation, significant insight into material behavior can be gained with the concurrent and synergistic pairing of multiple experimental and computational techniques.

Inert Gas Measurement of Single Bubble in CeO2

Uranium dioxide (UO2), an oxide with a fluorite crystal structure, is the main fuel used in commercial light water reactors. Inert fission gases such as Xe and Kr significantly impact the performance of UO2 during reactor operation and in storage. These gases have a large yield of approximately 25% and have a low solubility in UO2, resulting in the formation of large density of fission gas bubbles [1]. Such bubbles cause the fuel to swell, which promotes clad outward creep that shortens the cladding lifetime. Characterization of the inert fission gas content in bubbles can help us understand fuel swelling and fuel pin pressurization. This is performed for Xe bubbles in cerium dioxide, CeO2, which is considered a surrogate for UO2 due to similar crystal structure and properties.

Sample preparation artifacts in nuclear materials and mitigation strategies

Diverse microstructures form in nuclear materials upon exposure to radiation. The defects produced during irradiation of materials can alter their mechanical properties and lead to embrittlement of reactor structural materials during service life. Therefore, it is imperative to know various radiation effects in reactor materials since it can aid in understanding in-reactor degradation behavior, accounting for irradiation effects in design, and producing new generation radiation-tolerant materials. Characterization of radiation-induced changes in reactor materials at the nano and atomic scales is typically conducted in transmission electron microscopes (TEM). Three most commonly used sample preparation techniques include electro-polishing, broadbeam ion milling, and focused ion beam (FIB) approach. However, preparation of samples using conventional sample preparation techniques, such as electro-polishing and ion milling, requires close-in, hands-on manipulation of the sample for extended periods of time. This is not feasible with highly radioactive nuclear materials.

Microstructural Characterization of the Irradiated Nuclear Fuels

The microstructural characterization using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for the irradiated fuels played an important role to the understanding of fuel performance. Significant progresses have been made in recent years on SEM and TEM work for fuel development in reduced-enrichment for research and test reactors (RERTR) program [1, 2]. It is extremely challenging to prepare the samples from the highly radioactive irradiated fuel for high resolution microscopy analysis. For the complex microstructure of irradiated fuels, the traditional mechanical polishing tends to produce a smeared and disturbed surface making it difficult to reveal the original microstructure in SEM while the traditional TEM sample preparation often limits the ability to access the areas of interest for detailed analysis. The new development using the focused-ion-beam (FIB) lift-out and polishing technical at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) demonstrated the great advantage in microstructural characterization for the irradiated nuclear fuels.

Evaluation of Alternate Materials for Coated Particle Fuels for the Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor. Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program FY 2006 Final Report

Candidate ceramic materials were studied to determine their suitability as Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor particle fuel coatings. The ceramics examined in this work were: TiC, TiN, ZrC, ZrN, AlN, and SiC. The studies focused on (i) chemical reactivity of the ceramics with fission products palladium and rhodium, (ii) the thermomechanical stresses that develop in the fuel coatings from a variety of causes during burnup, and (iii) the radiation resiliency of the materials. The chemical reactivity of TiC, TiN, ZrC, and ZrN with Pd and Rh were all found to be much lower than that of SiC. A number of important chemical behaviors were observed at the ceramic-metal interfaces, including the formation of specific intermetallic phases and a variation in reaction rates for the different ceramics investigated. Based on the data collected in this work, the nitride ceramics (TiN and ZrN) exhibit chemical behavior that is characterized by lower reaction rates with Pd and Rh than the carbides TiC and ZrC. The thermomechanical stresses in spherical fuel particle ceramic coatings were modeled using finite element analysis, and included contributions from differential thermal expansion, fission gas pressure, fuel kernel swelling, and thermal creep. In general the tangential stresses in the coatings during fullmorexa0» reactor operation are tensile, with ZrC showing the lowest values among TiC, ZrC, and SiC (TiN and ZrN were excluded from the comprehensive calculations due to a lack of available materials data). The work has highlighted the fact that thermal creep plays a critical role in the development of the stress state of the coatings by relaxing many of the stresses at high temperatures. To perform ion irradiations of sample materials, an irradiation beamline and high-temperature sample irradiation stage was constructed at the University of Wisconsin’s 1.7MV Tandem Accelerator Facility. This facility is now capable of irradiating of materials to high dose while controlling sample temperature up to 800oC.«xa0less