NSUF 13-397: Atom Probe Tomography to Study Annealing Temperature Dependence on Krypton Bubble Clustering in Uranium Dioxide
It is widely known that microstructural changes influence the thermal performance of nuclear fuels. One mechanism that plays a pivotal role in the microstructural evolution of fuel is the formation and growth of insoluble fission products clusters, such as krypton (Kr) in uranium dioxide (UO2). Changes in the microstructure, specifically the addition of Kr bubbles, lead to a change in the efficiency of the transport of phonons or lattice vibrations. Atomic level experiments are needed to help explain the role annealing temperature play on the growth of Kr bubbles, which alter fuel chemistry and thus the thermal transport properties in UO2. The objective of this proposed research is to study the effect of fission product formation on the microstructure of nuclear fuel. The goal is to elucidate the fundamental material-physics underlying the connection between the fission products segregation and microstructural evolution. The proposed research utilizes atom probe tomography (APT) to study Kr segregation in polycrystalline UO2. In order to characterize the precise chemical and spatial distributions of Kr bubble clusters in UO2, laser-assisted atom probe tomography (APT) in conjunction with the focused ion beam (FIB) system available at CAES will be used. The FIB system will be used to prepare site-specific samples to fabricate atom probe tips. Each sample analyzed will be reconstructed using the IVAS software (available both at CAES and PI Manuel’s laboratory at the University of Florida) to study the Kr bubble segregation in UO2. Samples will be studied in the late Fall or early Winter 2012. Final results will then be published in peer- reviewed journal articles and presented at nuclear-fuels related conferences. It is expected that these results will provide new insight into the spatial and chemical distribution of Kr bubbles in UO2, allowing for the correlation with atomic-level simulations and/or the ability to link with mesoscale structure-property relationships.
Допълнителна информация
| Поле | Стойност |
|---|---|
| Abstract | It is widely known that microstructural changes influence the thermal performance of nuclear fuels. One mechanism that plays a pivotal role in the microstructural evolution of fuel is the formation and growth of insoluble fission products clusters, such as krypton (Kr) in uranium dioxide (UO2). Changes in the microstructure, specifically the addition of Kr bubbles, lead to a change in the efficiency of the transport of phonons or lattice vibrations. Atomic level experiments are needed to help explain the role annealing temperature play on the growth of Kr bubbles, which alter fuel chemistry and thus the thermal transport properties in UO2. The objective of this proposed research is to study the effect of fission product formation on the microstructure of nuclear fuel. The goal is to elucidate the fundamental material-physics underlying the connection between the fission products segregation and microstructural evolution. The proposed research utilizes atom probe tomography (APT) to study Kr segregation in polycrystalline UO2. In order to characterize the precise chemical and spatial distributions of Kr bubble clusters in UO2, laser-assisted atom probe tomography (APT) in conjunction with the focused ion beam (FIB) system available at CAES will be used. The FIB system will be used to prepare site-specific samples to fabricate atom probe tips. Each sample analyzed will be reconstructed using the IVAS software (available both at CAES and PI Manuel’s laboratory at the University of Florida) to study the Kr bubble segregation in UO2. Samples will be studied in the late Fall or early Winter 2012. Final results will then be published in peer- reviewed journal articles and presented at nuclear-fuels related conferences. It is expected that these results will provide new insight into the spatial and chemical distribution of Kr bubbles in UO2, allowing for the correlation with atomic-level simulations and/or the ability to link with mesoscale structure-property relationships. |
| Award Announced Date | 2012-12-20T00:00:00 |
| Awarded Institution | None |
| Facility | None |
| Facility Tech Lead | Yaqiao Wu |
| Irradiation Facility | None |
| PI | Michele Manuel |
| PI Email | [email protected] |
| Project Type | RTE |
| RTE Number | 397 |