TY - JOUR
T1 - 3-D reconstruction and microstructural characterization of neutron-irradiated U-10Zr fuel using FIB-SEM serial sectioning
AU - Rodríguez Pérez, Nicole
AU - Thomas, Jonova
AU - Murray, Daniel
AU - Okuniewski, Maria A.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy under DOE Idaho Operations Office Contract DE-AC07-051D14517 as part of a Nuclear Science User Facilities experiment (18-1590). Nicole Rodríguez Pérez acknowledges the U.S. Department of State and the Dominican Republic Education Ministry for providing academic funding as part of the Fulbright – MESCyT program, Grant number: GNT-20212273.
Funding Information:
The funding was provided by Fulbright Dominican Republic (Grant No: GNT-20212273).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to The Materials Research Society.
PY - 2023/1/3
Y1 - 2023/1/3
N2 - Focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy serial sectioning was applied to characterize the three-dimensional (3-D) porosity and phase regions of a neutron-irradiated U-10 wt% Zr fuel. The specimen was removed from an intermediate radial region of a fuel pin irradiated to 5.7 at.% burn-up. Backscattered electron imaging and energy-dispersive spectroscopy were performed on each serial section, allowing for the characterization of microstructural morphology and composition. Porosity size followed a lognormal distribution, ranging from 1.46 × 10–4 to 25.58 μm3 with a total porosity volume fraction of 13.02%. Distinctive microstructural regions were identified by composition and porosity: (1) a Zr-rich region with an average composition of 28.4 wt% Zr and a local porosity fraction of 6.88%, and (2) a U-rich region with an average composition of 97.0 wt% U and a local porosity fraction of 14.11%; subdivided into U-rich—high porosity (16.68%) and U-rich—low porosity (8.04%) regions. The detailed 3-D compositional and porosity regions can improve nuclear fuel performance codes. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]
AB - Focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy serial sectioning was applied to characterize the three-dimensional (3-D) porosity and phase regions of a neutron-irradiated U-10 wt% Zr fuel. The specimen was removed from an intermediate radial region of a fuel pin irradiated to 5.7 at.% burn-up. Backscattered electron imaging and energy-dispersive spectroscopy were performed on each serial section, allowing for the characterization of microstructural morphology and composition. Porosity size followed a lognormal distribution, ranging from 1.46 × 10–4 to 25.58 μm3 with a total porosity volume fraction of 13.02%. Distinctive microstructural regions were identified by composition and porosity: (1) a Zr-rich region with an average composition of 28.4 wt% Zr and a local porosity fraction of 6.88%, and (2) a U-rich region with an average composition of 97.0 wt% U and a local porosity fraction of 14.11%; subdivided into U-rich—high porosity (16.68%) and U-rich—low porosity (8.04%) regions. The detailed 3-D compositional and porosity regions can improve nuclear fuel performance codes. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85145500047
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/55a544f5-1e7a-3df8-ac23-ea7d18124323/
U2 - 10.1557/s43580-022-00464-3
DO - 10.1557/s43580-022-00464-3
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85145500047
SN - 2059-8521
VL - 8
SP - 14
EP - 20
JO - MRS Advances
JF - MRS Advances
IS - 1
ER -