Abstract
About 50 vol.% 3 μm depleted uranium dioxide (UO2) powder was encapsulated within a tungsten super alloy matrix produced from sub-micron tungsten powders using the Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) process. An additive of 25 atom-percent (at.%) rhenium was included within the tungsten matrix to improve the ductility and fracture toughness of the ceramic-metallic (cermet) matrix. Cermet fabrication to 97.9% of the theoretical cermet density was achieved by sintering at 1500 °C with 40 MPa of applied pressure for 20 min. The results presented are from the first known trials of W-UO2 and nuclear cermet production via SPS.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 50-54 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Journal of Nuclear Materials |
Volume | 433 |
Issue number | 1-3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2013 |