Diffusion of radiogenic helium in natural uranium oxides

Roudil, D.; Bonhoure, Jessica; Pik, Raphaël; Cuney, Michel; Jégou, Christophe; Gauthier-Lafaye, F.

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2008.05.001

Cited by 32 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Roudil et al [200] explored the creation of "bubbles" in uranium minerals from production of radiogenic helium as a product of alpha decay. This He may be concentrated in the mineral grains, or trapped at grain boundaries, also generating matrix damage.…”

Section: Geochemical Behaviour Of Daughter Radionuclidesmentioning

confidence: 99%

210Pb and 210Po in Geological and Related Anthropogenic Materials: Implications for Their Mineralogical Distribution in Base Metal Ores

et al. 2018

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Abstract:The distributions of 210 Pb and 210 Po, short half-life products of 238 U decay, in geological and related anthropogenic materials are reviewed, with emphasis on their geochemical behaviours and likely mineral hosts. Concentrations of natural 210 Pb and 210 Po in igneous and related hydrothermal environments are governed by release from crustal reservoirs. 210 Po may undergo volatilisation, inducing disequilibrium in magmatic systems. In sedimentary environments (marine, lacustrine, deltaic and fluvial), as in soils, concentrations of 210 Pb and 210 Po are commonly derived from a combination of natural and anthropogenic sources. Enhanced concentrations of both radionuclides are reported in media from a variety of industrial operations, including uranium mill tailings, waste from phosphoric acid production, oil and gas exploitation and energy production from coals, as well as in residues from the mining and smelting of uranium-bearing copper ores. Although the mineral hosts of the two radionuclides in most solid media are readily defined as those containing parent 238 U and 226 Ra, their distributions in some hydrothermal U-bearing ores and the products of processing those ores are much less well constrained. Much of the present understanding of these radionuclides is based on indirect data rather than direct observation and potential hosts are likely to be diverse, with deportments depending on the local geochemical environment. Some predictions can nevertheless be made based on the geochemical properties of 210 Pb and 210 Po and those of the intermediate products of 238 U decay, including isotopes of Ra and Rn. Alongside all U-bearing minerals, the potential hosts of 210 Pb and 210 Po may include Pb-bearing chalcogenides such as galena, as well as a range of sulphates, carbonates, and Fe-oxides. 210 Pb and 210 Po are also likely to occur as nanoparticles adsorbed onto the surface of other minerals, such as clays, Fe-(hydr)oxides and possibly also carbonates. In rocks, unsupported 210 Pb-and/or 210 Po-bearing nanoparticles may also be present within micro-fractures in minerals and at the interfaces of mineral grains. Despite forming under very limited and special conditions, the local-scale isotopic disequilibrium they infer is highly relevant for understanding their distributions in mineralized rocks and processing products.

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Section: Geochemical Behaviour Of Daughter Radionuclidesmentioning

confidence: 99%

210Pb and 210Po in Geological and Related Anthropogenic Materials: Implications for Their Mineralogical Distribution in Base Metal Ores

et al. 2018

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“…Helium behaviors in irradiated UO 2 and MOX fuel were investigated by different authors [15][16][17][18][19][20].…”

Section: Helium Releasementioning

confidence: 99%

Gas releases and rod internal pressure of BN-added UO₂fuel

Jeong

Yang

2015

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology

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Gadolinium (Gd), in the form of gadolinia (Gd 2 O 3 ), has been used as integral burnable absorber to UO 2 fuel by different companies. Recently, alternative burnable absorber materials are under investigation. In this paper, the results of the study on the use of boron mixed in UO 2 as an integral burnable absorber are presented. Boron nitride was selected as the form of B to be added to UO 2 fuel based on the stability of B during sintering. Fuel performance analysis code FRAPCON-UNI, which is based on FRAPCON code and has the modifications for boron and helium generation and gasses release models, was used for the calculation of fuel performance. Helium generation was calculated using a model and the result was verified against ORIGEN calculation results. Gas release calculation was based on Forsberg Massih model and different characteristics of the gasses were considered. Power histories of maximum burnup rods (B rod, no B rod, and Gd rod) were selected from reactor physics data. The results indicated significant increases in rod internal pressure by 500 ppm boron addition at the end of life with minimum influence of a grain boundary boron fraction due to high diffusivity of helium and nitrogen.

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“…Roudil et al considered a natural uranium oxide sample from Pet At Ran in Vendee region of France for the purpose of considering changes in UO 2 and (U, PuO 2 ) matrixes with nuclear waste management. Helium (He) diffusion coefficients showed that 5% maximum during 320 Ma was concerned; 33% residual that in matrix and vacancy and defects; 66% bubbles were found by HRTEM [6].…”

Section: Waste Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%