Effects of ZrN coating and heat treatment on U-Mo dispersion fuel systems under irradiation

The stability of U-Mo fuel particles embedded in an Al matrix can be enhanced through ZrN coatings and/or heat treatment. The present study investigates the irradiation behavior of fuel plates containing U-Mo fuel particles fabricated under various heat-treatment conditions and ZrN coating thicknesses. Different fission densities were also applied to each fuel plate to evaluate […]

Imaging and Analysis of Insoluble Electrorefiner Material

Throughout pyroprocessing efforts at the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF), insoluble material has accumulated in the Electrorefiner (ER) vessel. The objective of this effort was to analyze the accumulated material to determine its origin. Material was removed from the ER salt bath and distilled to remove excess salt prior to performing analysis. Three samples were […]

Postirradiation characterization of palladium as an additive for fuel cladding chemical interaction mitigation in metallic fuel

This work describes the microstructural and elemental characterization of irradiated metallic fuels containing palladium as an additive. The use of additives has been proposed to control Fuel-Cladding Chemical Interaction (FCCI) and thus to promote higher fuel utilization (i.e., higher burnup). In this work, Pd has been investigated as a potential additive to metallic fuel to […]