Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
M. W. D. Cooper, K. A. Gamble, L. Capolungo, C. Matthews, D. A. Andersson, B. Beeler, C. R. Stanek, K. Metzger
Summary: U3Si2, an advanced fuel candidate with high fissile density and thermal properties, has data gaps in thermophysical and thermomechanical properties. This study used DFT and MD simulations to predict point defect concentrations under irradiation, informing a creep model based on diffusional creep and dislocation creep, which compares well with experimental data and has been implemented in a fuel performance code. Demonstrations show negligible creep in U3Si2 due to its high thermal conductivity at low reactor temperatures.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Cole Moczygemba, Jonathan George, Eduardo Montoya, Eunja Kim, Geronimo Robles, Elizabeth Sooby
Summary: The research and development of high uranium density fuels is crucial for enhancing reactor technology, safety, performance, and economics. This study explores the performance of U3Si2 fuel alloyed with Zr in high temperature steam oxidation environments, demonstrating delayed onset of oxidation and improved homogeneity.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Physics, Condensed Matter
Hangbo Qi, Buda Li, Menglu Li, Shan Feng, Jutao Hu, Hengfeng Gong, Qisen Ren, Yehong Liao, Haiyan Xiao, Xiaotao Zu
Summary: This study investigates the influence of Xe and Cs on the thermal conductivity of uranium silicide lattice and reveals that defective U3Si2 has lower thermal conductivity. This finding suggests the potential of U3Si2 as a promising accident tolerant fuel.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICS-CONDENSED MATTER
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
J. A. Yingling, K. A. Gamble, Elwyn Roberts, R. Austin Freeman, Travis W. Knight
Summary: U3Si2-SiC concept fuel shows promise as a replacement for UO2-Zr4 fuels during steady-state operation, but the failure of the mSiC layer generally occurs before significant thermal creep in U3Si2 during low power operation.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Shipeng Shu, Yinbin Miao, Bei Ye, Kun Mo, Laura Jamison, Sumit Bhattacharya, Aaron Oaks, Abdellatif M. Yacout, Jason Harp, L. Amulya Nimmagadda, Sanjiv Sinha
Summary: This study investigates the thermal conductivity of U3Si2 that has been amorphized by ion irradiation. The results show that the thermal conductivity of amorphous U3Si2 is significantly lower than that of crystalline U3Si2, which is consistent with previous research findings.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
Natsumi Mitsuboshi, Hiroshi Sagara
Summary: Small modular reactors (SMRs) have attracted significant research interest due to their various applications, and the flexibility and regulatory concerns are essential. The study found that U3Si2 fuel showed better reactivity and lower operating temperature compared to UO2 fuel, but demonstrated complexity during processing.
ANNALS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Jennifer K. Watkins, Adrian R. Wagner, Scott C. Middlemas, M. Craig Marshall, Kathryn J. Metzger, Brian Jaques
Summary: This study investigated the use of uranium diboride as an additive to increase both thermal conductivity and uranium loading, aiming to enhance the accident tolerance of light water reactor fuel. The results showed that the thermal conductivity of the samples increased by 36-55% compared to the benchmark samples (pure UO2) within the temperature range of 323 K to 1273 K.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
A. P. Shivprasad, V Kocevski, T. L. Ulrich, J. R. Wermer, D. A. Andersson, J. T. White
Summary: In this study, the thermodynamics of hydrogen absorption reaction of U3Si2 were experimentally determined and correlated with crystallographic evolution using X-ray diffraction. The study found that the hydride phase of U3Si2 exhibited a maximum stoichiometry between U3Si2H1.8 and U3Si2H2, with a two-phase region and critical temperature. Enthalpy and entropy of the hydrogen absorption reaction increased with hydrogen content but were lower than values for other reactions. Density functional theory modeling results were consistent with experimental findings.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Qusai Mistarihi, James Buckley, Joel Turner, Tim Abram
Summary: The fabrication and thermal conductivity of mixed-phase UN-UB2 composite pellets were investigated. The results showed that the fabricated composites had a higher thermal conductivity than UN at low temperatures, but the increase was less significant at higher temperatures and composites with low UB2 content had lower thermal conductivity.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Nuclear Science & Technology
Xueyan Zhu, Rui Gao, Hengfeng Gong, Tong Liu, De-Ye Lin, Haifeng Song
Summary: The interfacial thermal resistance (ITR) between UO2 and BeO was calculated using the diffuse mismatch model (DMM) in this study, and its effects on the thermal conductivity were investigated. It was found that the ITR for UO2/dispersed-BeO is mainly influenced by vibrational mismatch, while the ITR for UO2/continuous-BeO may be attributed to contact resistance. Furthermore, doping UO2 with BeO can enhance its thermal conductivity effectively.
ANNALS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Yulia Mishchenko, Kyle D. Johnson, Janne Wallenius, Denise Adorno Lopes
Summary: In this study, composite UN-AlN, UN-Cr, UN-CrN, and UN-AlN-CrN pellets were fabricated, obtaining an advanced microstructure with different modes of interaction between phases. The results allowed for the assessment of a methodology for fabricating UN composites with controlled microstructure, including the observation of the ternary U2CrN3 phase in pellets containing Cr and CrN dopants.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Douglas E. Burkes, Ian J. Schwerdt, Tanja K. Huber, Harald Breitkreutz, Christian Reiter, Winfried Petry, Jason L. Schulthess, Andrew M. Casella, Amanda J. Casella, Edgar C. Buck, Karl N. Pool, Paul J. MacFarlan, Matthew K. Edwards, Frances N. Smith
Summary: Measurements of physical and thermal properties were conducted on irradiated U-Mo alloy monolithic fuel samples with a Zr diffusion barrier clad in Al alloy 6061. The study provides insights into the behavior of U-Mo fuel under high performance research reactor irradiation conditions, showing a decrease in density with increasing fission density and an increase in thermal conductivity with temperature. The findings suggest that fission gas swelling may be a key factor influencing the deviation between model calculations and measurements.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Yi Zhong, Zhenliang Yang, Qiqi Huang, Zhiyi Wang, Yun Wang, Dezhi Zhang, Tao Shi, Min Wu, Bingqing Li, Rui Gao, Mingfu Chu, Pengcheng Zhang, Bin Bai
Summary: Introducing graphite flakes (GFs) into UO2 has been shown to significantly improve thermal conductivity, especially in the radial direction. Under specific conditions, the radial thermal conductivity of GFs/UO2 composites can be greatly enhanced, with the diameter of GFs also impacting the thermal conductivity.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Q. Mistarihi, F. Martini, J. Buckley, S. Middlebough, T. J. Abram, J. Turner
Summary: The air oxidation behavior of UB2 synthesized via carbo/borothermic reaction was investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Heating ramps from room temperature up to 1173 K showed an onset of rapid oxidation occurred at a temperature of 807 +/- 6 K for samples in fragment form and 799 +/- 5 K for finely powdered material. The ramp tests yielded UB2O6 as the ultimate oxidation product. A thermodynamic model for the U-B-O system was used to propose a reaction pathway for the oxidation process and to predict the amount of heat released, which agreed with the observed phenomena and values measured via DSC.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jiajun Zhao, Dan Sun, Liu Xi, Ping Chen, Jijun Zhao, Yuanyuan Wang
Summary: This study systematically explores the thermodynamic behavior of fission gas in uranium-based fuels, revealing that fission gas is more likely to form vacancy cluster defects in UO2 and UN, while preferring mono-atomic vacancies and fission gas complexes in U3Si2.
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Anton Schneider, Yongfeng Zhang, Chao Jiang, Jian Gan
Summary: The formation mechanism of void and gas bubble superlattices has been investigated, showing a correlation with the instability in the vacancy concentration field and self-interstitial-atom diffusion. Experimental results indicate that the superlattice constant, ordering, and critical dose of formation are strongly dependent on temperature and dose rate.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Cheng Sun, Chao Jiang, Yifeng Che, Wei-Ying Chen, Yongfeng Zhang, Andrea M. Jokisaari, Larry K. Aagesen, Lin Shao, Jian Gan
Summary: Nanopatterned microstructures play a significant role in determining the physical and chemical properties of materials. In this study, the evolution of void superlattices under irradiation and the interaction between void superlattices and irradiation cascades were directly observed. It was found that heterogenous void shrinkage and mixed 1D/3D diffusion of self-interstitial atoms and injected inert gas atoms are the key factors causing the instability of void superlattices under irradiation.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Anus Manzoor, Yongfeng Zhang
Summary: This study used molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the effect of chemical ordering on point defect energetics and self-diffusion kinetics in complex concentrated alloys. The results showed that chemical ordering affects the probability and spatial distributions of point defect energetics, and can either increase or decrease self-diffusion depending on the equilibrium vacancy concentration. These findings highlight the importance of defect thermodynamics in understanding self-diffusion in alloys with chemical ordering.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Benjamin Beeler, Yongfeng Zhang, A. T. M. Jahid Hasan, Gyuchul Park, Shenyang Hu, Zhi-Gang Mei
Summary: This study presents molecular dynamics simulations of the formation energy of point defects under applied stress. This work is crucial for implementing stress-dependent microstructural evolution models of nuclear fuels to ensure the reliability and predictability of research reactor fuels.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Claire Griesbach, Tyler Gerczak, Yongfeng Zhang, Ramathasan Thevamaran
Summary: TRISO nuclear fuel particles have a layered spherical shell designed to retain fission products, but failure often occurs in the porous pyrocarbon buffer layer. Detailed characterization of the buffer porosity and its heterogeneous distribution is necessary to understand the failure mechanisms. In this study, FIB-SEM tomography was used to reconstruct the buffer microstructure with high spatial resolution. The analysis revealed an overall porosity of around 14% and an increase in local porosity towards the inner pyrocarbon layer. This information provides insight into the process-structure-property-performance relations of TRISO fuel particles and can inform the prediction of particle failure under irradiation.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2023)
Correction
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Benjamin Beeler, Yongfeng Zhang, A. T. M. Jahid Hasan, Gyuchul Park, Shenyang Hu, Zhi-Gang Mei
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Andrew K. Hoffman, Yongfeng Zhang, Maalavan Arivu, Li He, Kumar Sridharan, Yaqiao Wu, Rinat K. Islamgaliev, Ruslan Z. Valiev, Haiming Wen
Summary: In nuclear reactor environments, nanocrystalline 304 stainless steel exhibits unique radiation-induced segregation behavior with the enrichment of Cr at grain boundaries. Lattice-based atomic kinetic Monte Carlo simulations reveal the influences of grain size, injected interstitials, and self-ion injection on grain boundary segregation.
Article
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
Dileep Kumar Yadav, Qiang Zhang, Krzysztof Gofryk, Harikrishnan S. Nair, Sitharaman Uma
Summary: We conducted a comprehensive study on the synthesis, structure, and magnetic properties of honeycomb oxide Na3Mn2SbO6 using neutron diffraction, heat capacity, and magnetization measurements. Our results confirmed a monoclinic structure and demonstrated the coexistence of long-range and short-range magnetic ordering. We also observed a spin-flop transition and identified the fully ordered magnetic ground state of Na3Mn2SbO6 as a Neel antiferromagnetic. These findings highlight the importance of developing new honeycomb oxides.
INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
William A. Hanson, Fabiola Cappia, Joshua T. White, Kenneth J. McClellan, Jason M. Harp
Summary: This study presents post-irradiation examination data on UN-U3Si5 and U3Si5 fuels with Kanthal AF (R) cladding at low burnup levels. The results show good irradiation performance for both the silicide and nitride-silicide composite pellets. Limited axial cracking was observed only in UN-U3Si5 pellets, and microcracking was isolated to the U3Si5 phase, indicating it was not caused by irradiation. Fission gas release was minimal, and no fission gas bubbles were observed in the optical metallography, suggesting acceptable swelling and fission gas behavior.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Zefeng Yu, Elizabeth Kautz, Hongliang Zhang, Anton Schneider, Taeho Kim, Yongfeng Zhang, Sten Lambeets, Arun Devaraj, Adrien Couet
Summary: This study investigates the radiation effects on Zr-0.5Nb alloy and suggests a mechanism based on oxide space charge modification resulting from irradiation enhanced Nb clustering. This mechanism is supported by experimental and modeling approaches at multiple scales, challenging the current understanding of irradiation effects and their potential for improving materials performance in extreme environments.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Nathan Capps, Larry Aagesen, David Andersson, Oliver Baldwin, W. Cade Brinkley, Michael W. D. Cooper, Jason Harp, Stephen Novascone, Pierre-Clement A. Simon, Christopher Matthews, Brian D. Wirth
Summary: In response to the nuclear industry's desire for extended burnup, the US NRC released a RIL to analyze FFRD in light-water reactors. The unclear element is the significance of tFGR and its effects on fuel performance during loss-of-coolant accidents. Recent research shows that FGR increases with burnup, occurring at lower temperatures due to microcracking and embrittlement. This manuscript summarizes tFGR data, discusses dependencies, and proposes a roadmap for developing a mechanistic tFGR model applicable to various fuel conditions.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Peter Doyle, Juri Stuckert, Mirco Grosse, Martin Steinbrueck, Andrew T. Nelson, Jason Harp, Kurt Terrani
Summary: The QUENCH-19 experiment was a full-bundle test of accident-tolerant fuel cladding, specifically the B136Y3 alloy. Compared to the ZIRLO cladding in QUENCH-15, the B136Y3 cladding in QUENCH-19 released significantly less H2 and reached a lower maximum temperature. No breakaway oxidation was observed in QUENCH-19. The experiment suggests that Fe-CrAl cladding can chemically survive loss-of-coolant accidents followed by rapid ECCS quench if the correct geometry and core design are present.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Fidelma G. Di Lemma, Daniele Salvato, Luca Capriotti, Walter J. Williams, Fei Teng, Yongfeng Zhang, Tiankai Yao
Summary: Despite previous research providing substantial fuel performance data, the development of U-Zr metallic nuclear fuel for fast spectrum reactors is hindered by a lack of mechanistic understanding of fuel behavior evolution under thermal irradiation conditions. In this study, in-situ transmission electron microscopy heating experiments were conducted to investigate phase and microstructural evolution in several unirradiated U-10Zr specimens. The results showed that the α-U + bcc-(Zr, U) eutectic microstructure began to decompose above 600 degrees C, with decomposition initiating from the bcc (U,Zr) phase. Similar results were observed for specimens fabricated by different routes. The impact of observed microstructure and phase evolutions on fuel fabrication and in-pile fuel transient tests was also discussed.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
Hector C. Mandujano, Melaku Sisay Tafere, Naveen Kumar Chogondahalli Muniraju, Tielyr D. Creason, Timothy M. McWhorter, Krzysztof Gofryk, Thomas W. Heitmann, Qiang Zhang, Bayram Saparov, Harikrishnan S. Nair
Summary: In this work, the Mn2SiX4 olivines (X=S, Se) were studied using magnetic susceptibility, X-ray and neutron diffraction. The crystal structures of Mn2SiS4 and Mn2SiSe4 were determined using synchrotron X-ray, neutron diffraction, and X-ray total scattering data. It was found that the Mn triangle forming the sawtooth lattice is isosceles in both compounds. The temperature evolution of magnetic susceptibility showed anomalies below 83 K and 70 K for Mn2SiS4 and Mn2SiSe4, respectively, indicating the presence of magnetic ordering. Neutron diffraction measurements revealed that the magnetic space groups of Mn2SiS4 and Mn2SiSe4 are Pnma and Pnm ' a ', respectively.
DALTON TRANSACTIONS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Shipeng Shu, Yinbin Miao, Bei Ye, Kun Mo, Laura Jamison, Sumit Bhattacharya, Aaron Oaks, Abdellatif M. Yacout, Jason Harp, L. Amulya Nimmagadda, Sanjiv Sinha
Summary: This study investigates the thermal conductivity of U3Si2 that has been amorphized by ion irradiation. The results show that the thermal conductivity of amorphous U3Si2 is significantly lower than that of crystalline U3Si2, which is consistent with previous research findings.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Liuming Wei, Jingwen Li, Yonggang Li, Qirong Zheng, Fan Cheng, Chuanguo Zhang, Jingyu Li, Gaofeng Zhao, Zhi Zeng
Summary: This study investigates the influence of He-V complexes on H behaviors on different W surfaces using DFT calculations. The results show that H dissolution is most difficult but H trapping is easiest on the W (110) surface, while the opposite is true on the W (111) surface. Moreover, the presence of He-V complexes increases the difficulty of H diffusion from bulk to surface and desorption.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2024)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Yan Meng, Song Zeng, Chen Chen, Chaowen Zhu, Huahai Shen, Xiaosong Zhou, Xiaochun Han
Summary: The characteristics of magnetron sputtered Cr coatings vary with different temperature, bias voltage, and pressure. Coatings with random orientation, good crystallinity, and small grain size exhibit favorable oxidation behavior, while coatings with strong (200) texture, poor crystallinity, and large grains have many intrinsic defects that are detrimental to the protection property of the Cr coatings.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2024)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Xinyuan Xu, Zefeng Yu, Wei-Ying Chen, Aiping Chen, Arthur Motta, Xing Wang
Summary: This study presents an automated approach for characterizing grain morphology in TEM images recorded during ion irradiation. By combining a machine learning model and a computer vision algorithm, comparable results to human analysis can be achieved with significantly reduced analysis time. Researchers can train their own models following the procedures described in this study to automate grain morphology analysis of their own TEM images.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2024)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Shihao Wu, Dong Wang, Yapei Zhang, Koji Okamoto, Marco Pellegrini, Wenxi Tian, Suizheng Qiu, G. H. Su
Summary: The oxidation and degradation mechanisms of Cr coating on Zr alloy cladding under high temperature steam atmosphere are summarized, and a mathematical analysis model is established to predict the changes in coating thickness. The model is applied in the analysis of structure evolution under different conditions.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2024)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
V. Diaz-Mena, J. de Prado, M. Roldan, I. Izaguirre, M. Sanchez, M. Rieth, A. Urena
Summary: The brazeability of a cupronickel alloy was evaluated as a filler alloy for high-temperature joining of tungsten to steel. The study investigated the brazing conditions and the impact of the selected filler on the joint quality using numerical software. The results showed different metallurgical interactions and diffusion phenomena between the filler alloy and the base materials at different temperatures. The study emphasized the importance of selecting a suitable filler to mitigate residual stresses in the joints.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2024)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Pengcheng Zhu, Yajie Zhao, Yan-Ru Lin, Jean Henry, Steven J. Zinkle
Summary: This study investigates the effect of heavy-ion irradiation on radiation hardening in high-purity binary alloy Fe18Cr. Nanoindentation testing and high-quality TEM imaging were conducted to extract hardness and microstructure information. The strength factor was accurately calculated based on the detailed TEM characterization of irradiated microstructures, and a refined hardening superposition method was applied to quantify the mechanical properties of ion-irradiated materials.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2024)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Bin Wu, Haixia Ning, Hanzhen Zhu, Jianjun Chen, Kang Wang, Daiyu Zhang, Fu Wang, Qilong Liao
Summary: This study discusses the effects of ZrO2 and B2O3 on the phase composition and properties of SAP-based glass-ceramics. The results show that ZrO2 addition improves the formation of NZP phase while restricting the crystallization of AlPO4 phases. The correct ratios of ZrO2 and B2O3 allow only the formation of NZP phase within the SAP glass.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2024)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Hwasung Yeom, Greg Johnson, Benjamin Maier, Tyler Dabney, Kumar Sridharan
Summary: Cr-Nb bilayer coatings were developed using cold spray deposition to improve the limiting operational temperature of Cr-coated Zr-alloy system. The coatings exhibited outstanding oxidation resistance at high temperatures and formed continuous intermetallic compound layers at the interfaces.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2024)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Padhraic L. Mulligan, Andrew T. Nelson, Chad M. Parish, Patrick A. Champlin, Xiang Chen, Daniel Morrall, Jason M. Harp
Summary: Environmental barrier coatings are being developed to reduce oxidation and embrittlement in Zr-based materials. Chromium nitride is a candidate for this application, but understanding its impact on irradiation-induced creep and microstructure is critical.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2024)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Dexuan Yan, Xinlei Cao, Ke Shen
Summary: This study investigated the purification mechanism of polycrystalline graphite by comparing IG-11 graphite with IG-110 nuclear grade graphite. The analysis revealed that metallic impurities in IG-11 were primarily segregated within graphite porosities, while IG-110 demonstrated a significant reduction in impurities. This research contributes to the development of innovative graphite purification techniques for greater purity and stronger oxidation resistance.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2024)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Wei Xu, Wei Peng, Lei Shi, Qi Sun
Summary: This paper investigates the oxidation and shape evolution of matrix graphite in high temperature gas-cooled reactors during air-ingress accidents. A reaction kinetics model is established and computational fluid dynamics with a dynamic mesh method is used to simulate the oxidation process. The results show that the geometric shape of graphite changes significantly with increasing flow rate, and the graphite pebbles tend to form a structure with a narrow front and wide tail.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2024)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Allison Harward, Casey Elliott, Michael Shaltry, Krista Carlson, Tae-Sic Yoo, Guy Fredrickson, Michael Patterson, Michael F. Simpson
Summary: This paper investigates the hygroscopic properties of eutectic LiCl-KCl absorbed into zeolite-4A. The study finds that water absorption and corrosion worsen with increasing salt loading. It also suggests that the salt can be stored in a non-inert atmosphere for a certain period of time.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2024)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Takaaki Koyanagi, Xunxiang Hu, Christian M. Petrie, Gyanender Singh, Caen Ang, Christian P. Deck, Weon-Ju Kim, Daejong Kim, James Braun, Yutai Katoh
Summary: This study provides critical experimental data on the effects of irradiation on the hermeticity of SiC composite cladding, finding that irradiation can cause a decrease in hermeticity and cracking, and coating the outer surface can mitigate the cracking issue.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2024)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
S. Krat, A. Prishvitsyn, Yu. Gasparyan
Summary: This study proposes a probabilistic and diffusion-based model to describe the co-deposition of multiple hydrogen isotopes with slowly grown metal layers. The model calculates the relative concentrations of different hydrogen isotopes in the co-deposited metal layers. It is found that if hydrogen isotopes have different detrapping energies, only the isotope with the highest detrapping energy shows a monotonic decrease in concentration with deposition temperature. Furthermore, the study evaluates the uncertainty of tritium concentration in the co-deposited layer based on the uncertainty in detrapping energy of tritium and deuterium, predicting a >10% tritium concentration uncertainty for a 0.01 eV difference.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2024)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Tijo Vazhappilly, Arup Kumar Pathak
Summary: This study investigates the effect of Ce atom substitution in UO2 on its thermophysical properties using density functional theory. The results show that the Ce substitution levels and the oxidation state of Ce/U atoms strongly influence the band structure and specific heat capacity of the UO2 lattice. These findings provide important insights into the fuel properties of UO2 under reactor conditions.
JOURNAL OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
(2024)
