TY - JOUR
T1 - Microstructural characterization of U-20Pu-10Zr-4Sb and U-20Pu-10Zr-4Sb-4Ln
AU - Benson, Michael T.
AU - Yao, Tainkai
AU - Teng, Fei
AU - Wang, Yachun
AU - King, James A.
AU - Zhang, Jinsuo
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy under DOE Idaho Operations Office Contract DE-AC07–05ID14517 and Advanced Fuels Campaign of the Nuclear Technology Research and Development program in the Office of Nuclear Energy. Accordingly, the U.S. Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. Government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy , Office of Nuclear Energy under DOE Idaho Operations Office Contract DE-AC07–05ID14517 and Advanced Fuels Campaign of the Nuclear Technology Research and Development program in the Office of Nuclear Energy. Accordingly, the U.S. Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. Government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023
PY - 2023/12/15
Y1 - 2023/12/15
N2 - Antimony is being investigated as a potential additive to metallic fuel to control fuel-cladding chemical interactions (FCCI). The most detrimental elements involved in FCCI are fission product lanthanides, leading to brittle intermetallics and low melting eutectic phases. Previous investigations of Sb as an additive focused on U-10Zr, in wt. %, as the fuel. The current investigation expands that to include Pu in the fuel. Two alloys, U-20Pu-10Zr-4Sb and U-20Pu-10Zr-4Sb-4Ln (wt. %, Ln=53Nd-25Ce-16Pr-6La) have been investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to characterize the fuel as-cast microstructure and the microstructure after introduction of lanthanides. Sb reacts with Zr initially, forming Zr2Sb and Zr5Sb3, with as much as 20 at. % interstitial Pu present. In the presence of lanthanides, Sb forms Ln4Sb3 with the lanthanides, containing ∼14 at. % Pu. The Pu is substitutional for the lanthanides in the crystal lattice.
AB - Antimony is being investigated as a potential additive to metallic fuel to control fuel-cladding chemical interactions (FCCI). The most detrimental elements involved in FCCI are fission product lanthanides, leading to brittle intermetallics and low melting eutectic phases. Previous investigations of Sb as an additive focused on U-10Zr, in wt. %, as the fuel. The current investigation expands that to include Pu in the fuel. Two alloys, U-20Pu-10Zr-4Sb and U-20Pu-10Zr-4Sb-4Ln (wt. %, Ln=53Nd-25Ce-16Pr-6La) have been investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to characterize the fuel as-cast microstructure and the microstructure after introduction of lanthanides. Sb reacts with Zr initially, forming Zr2Sb and Zr5Sb3, with as much as 20 at. % interstitial Pu present. In the presence of lanthanides, Sb forms Ln4Sb3 with the lanthanides, containing ∼14 at. % Pu. The Pu is substitutional for the lanthanides in the crystal lattice.
KW - Fuel additive
KW - Fuel-cladding chemical interaction
KW - Lanthanides
KW - Metallic fuel
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85171335190
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/b879d66d-bf98-351c-baa0-d03fc5479c75/
U2 - 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2023.154729
DO - 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2023.154729
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85171335190
SN - 0022-3115
VL - 587
JO - Journal of Nuclear Materials
JF - Journal of Nuclear Materials
M1 - 154729
ER -