Microstructural characterization of high burn-up mixed oxide fast reactor fuel

Teague, Melissa; Gorman, Brian P.; King, Jeffrey C.; Porter, Douglas L.; Hayes, S. L.

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2013.05.067

Cited by 28 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…[1][2][3] In addition, these experimental results complement and validate modeling and simulation efforts on predicting the coevolution of microstructure and physical properties in irradiated fuel at the mesoscale. 4 The mesoscale information obtained from advanced experimental and simulation capabilities is helping to inform a new generation of materials models for predicting fuel performance that are based on microstructure physics rather the conventional empirical models based on burn-up measurements.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 55%

“…The analyzed samples were prepared from the midplane of the fuel column and have a burn-up of 6.7% fissions per initial metal atom. A more detailed irradiation history and optical microscopy of the samples was reported previously by Teague et al 1 The microstructure, chemistry, and structure information of the samples were collected using a dual-beam focused ion beam (FIB) instrument (FEI Quanta 3D FEG; FEI Company, Hillsboro, OR) equipped with an EDAX energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS; EDAX Inc., Mahwah, NJ) and an EBSD detector. Two to twenty five micrometer fuel samples were cut from two distinct radial positions in the fuel pellet: Sample 1 was obtained near the center of the fuel where the end of life operating temperature was 1,773 K and sample 2 was obtained near the outer edge of the fuel where the temperature was 1,273 K. Because of the nature of fast reactor fuel, the two samples have identical burn-ups with the only variation being the irradiation temperature.…”

Section: Experimental Approach and Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Using Coupled Mesoscale Experiments and Simulations to Investigate High Burn-Up Oxide Fuel Thermal Conductivity

Teague

Fromm

Tonks

et al. 2014

JOM

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Nuclear energy is a mature technology with a small carbon footprint. However, work is needed to make current reactor technology more accident tolerant and to allow reactor fuel to be burned in a reactor for longer periods of time. Optimizing the reactor fuel performance is essentially a materials science problem. The current understanding of fuel microstructure have been limited by the difficulty in studying the structure and chemistry of irradiated fuel samples at the mesoscale. Here, we take advantage of recent advances in experimental capabilities to characterize the microstructure in 3D of irradiated mixed oxide (MOX) fuel taken from two radial positions in the fuel pellet. We also reconstruct these microstructures using Idaho National Laboratory's MARMOT code and calculate the impact of microstructure heterogeneities on the effective thermal conductivity using mesoscale heat conduction simulations. The thermal conductivities of both samples are higher than the bulk MOX thermal conductivity because of the formation of metallic precipitates and because we do not currently consider phonon scattering due to defects smaller than the experimental resolution. We also used the results to investigate the accuracy of simple thermal conductivity approximations and equations to convert 2D thermal conductivities to 3D. It was found that these approximations struggle to predict the complex thermal transport interactions between metal precipitates and voids.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Section: Experimental Approach and Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Coupled Mesoscale Experiments and Simulations to Investigate High Burn-Up Oxide Fuel Thermal Conductivity

Teague

Fromm

Tonks

et al. 2014

JOM

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“…Methods and precautions necessary to prepare lift-outs specimens from SNF using FIB-SEM have been described by Teague et al 10 and Aitkaliyeva et al 51 In this case, the SEM mounts containing the polished spent fuel fragments were mounted in specially designed metallic blocks that reduced the dose during handling. These blocks also contained insertion points for placing the lift-out row-holder.…”

Section: Preparation Of Tem Specimensmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[3][4][5][6][7][8] Some fission products are retained within the UO 2 matrix in solid solution, while at the same time the noble gases-xenon (Xe) and krypton (Kr)-and the 4d group metals-molybdenum (Mo), technetium (Tc), ruthenium (Ru), rhodium (Rh), and palladium (Pd)-are trapped as gas bubbles and partitioned into metallic phases, respectively. [9][10][11][12][13][14] This metallic phase has gone by several names in the literature, including white inclusions, 15,16 fission-product alloy, 16 5-metal particles, 17 epsilon particles, 18,19 and noble metal phase. 6,20 Knowledge of the distribution of radionuclides across the fuel matrix or partitioning as discrete phases within or outside the fuel grains is necessary to make predictions about potential release in the event of cladding failure during SNF storage, transportation, or long-term geologic disposal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution of metallic fission-product particles in the cladding liner of spent nuclear fuel

et al. 2020

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We have made observations of noble metal phase fission-product agglomerates and gaseous xenon within the fuel-cladding interaction (FCI) zone of a high-burnup UO 2 fuel. The FCI is the boundary between the UO 2 pellet outer surface and the inner wall of the oxidized Zr-liner/cladding of the fuel rod. These fission-product agglomerates are well known to occur within the spent fuel matrix, and although radionuclides have been reported by others, we reveal aspects of their speciation and morphology. That they occur as discrete particles in the oxidized Zr liner, suggests the occurrence of hitherto unknown processes in the FCI zone during reactor operation, and this may have implications for the long-term storage and disposal of these types of materials. As expected, the particle agglomerates, which ranged in size from the nanometer scale to the micrometer scale, contained mainly Mo, Ru, Tc, Rh, and Pd; however, we also found significant quantities of Te associated with Pd. Indeed, we found nanometer scale separation of the distinct Pd/Te phase from the other fission products within the particles. Often associated with the particles was concentrations of uranium, sometimes appearing as a "cloud" with a tail emanating from the fuel into the oxidized cladding liner. Many of the noble metal phase particles appeared as fractured clusters separated by Xe-gas-filled voids. Possible mechanisms of formation or transport in the cladding liner are presented.

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“…However, it must be noticed that the available irradiation tests and associated post-irradiation examinations did not highlight failure of the cladding in the presence of the JOG; 2 − 8 on the contrary, some of the results seem to indicate a beneficial effect of the JOG formation on the fuel-clad mechanical interaction. 5 This could be due to a much higher visco-elasticity of the JOG phases compared to the fuel. Further investigations are needed on this point.…”

Section: Conclusion and Implications For The Safety Assessment Of Thmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of the Cs₂(Mo,Te)O₄ Solid Solution and Implications on the Joint Oxyde-Gaine System in Fast Neutron Reactors

et al. 2020

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The formation of a thin layer, the so-called Joint Oxyde-Gaine (JOG), between the (U,Pu)O 2 fuel pellets and the cladding has been observed in fast neutron reactors, due to the accumulation of volatile fission products. Cs 2 MoO 4 is known to be one of the major components of the JOG, but other elements are also present, in particular tellurium and palladium. In this work, an investigation of the structural and thermodynamic properties of Cs 2 TeO 4 and Cs 2 Mo 1– x Te x O 4 solid solution is reported. The existence of a complete solubility between Cs 2 MoO 4 and Cs 2 TeO 4 is demonstrated, combining X-ray diffraction (XRD), neutron diffraction (ND), and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) results. High-temperature XRD measurements were moreover performed on Cs 2 TeO 4 , which revealed the existence of a α–β phase transition around 712 K. Thermal expansion coefficients were also obtained from these data. Finally, phase equilibra points in the Cs 2 MoO 4 –Cs 2 TeO 4 pseudobinary phase diagram were collected using differential scanning calorimetry and used to develop a thermodynamic model for this system using a regular solution formalism.

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Microstructural characterization of high burn-up mixed oxide fast reactor fuel

Cited by 28 publications

References 21 publications

Using Coupled Mesoscale Experiments and Simulations to Investigate High Burn-Up Oxide Fuel Thermal Conductivity

Using Coupled Mesoscale Experiments and Simulations to Investigate High Burn-Up Oxide Fuel Thermal Conductivity

Distribution of metallic fission-product particles in the cladding liner of spent nuclear fuel

Investigation of the Cs₂(Mo,Te)O₄ Solid Solution and Implications on the Joint Oxyde-Gaine System in Fast Neutron Reactors

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Microstructural characterization of high burn-up mixed oxide fast reactor fuel

Cited by 28 publications

References 21 publications

Using Coupled Mesoscale Experiments and Simulations to Investigate High Burn-Up Oxide Fuel Thermal Conductivity

Using Coupled Mesoscale Experiments and Simulations to Investigate High Burn-Up Oxide Fuel Thermal Conductivity

Distribution of metallic fission-product particles in the cladding liner of spent nuclear fuel

Investigation of the Cs2(Mo,Te)O4 Solid Solution and Implications on the Joint Oxyde-Gaine System in Fast Neutron Reactors

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Investigation of the Cs₂(Mo,Te)O₄ Solid Solution and Implications on the Joint Oxyde-Gaine System in Fast Neutron Reactors