No abstract

Oxidation of plutonium-3.3 atomic percent (a/o) gallium in air was studied over the temperature range 250~176A paralinear oxidation process was observed at all temperatures although not clearly defined at 400~ The temperature dependence of the oxidation rates indicated a change in the oxidation mechanism between 350 ~ and 400~ This was attributed to the selective formation of PuO or Pu208 at the metal interface in this temperature range during the parabolic stage and film cracking or nonisothermal oxidation in the linear region. Increasing the water concentration from 7 to 160 ppm resulted in increased oxidation at 350 ~ and 400~ but had no detectable effect at 250 ~ and 300~