NSUF 13-367: Initial PIE of non-fueled coated particles irradiated at 1400 C

These first few sentences provide some background to the proposed work. In November 2005, the High Temperature Irradiation Facility (HTIF) was introduced at the MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory. This in-core experimental facility was installed in the MIT research reactor (MITR-II) in place of one of the fuel elements and has allowed for the irradiation of samples in an inert atmosphere (He/Ne mixture) at temperatures of 1400 degrees Celsius or higher. Several sample types including SiC composite materials (tensile, bend bar, and thermal diffusivity), matrix graphite for the high temperature gas reactor fuel compacts, and coated fuel particles (using ZrO2 as a surrogate for UO2) were irradiated in the HTIF in the MITR-II for 3 months, ending in March 2006. The objectives of the proposed work are to move the HTIF rig from the MITR-II spent fuel pool to a hot cell. Once in the hot cell, the rig and the sample capsules will be disassembled and the samples will be removed for PIE. The initial PIE will focus on determining the high temperature radiation effects on the non-fueled TRISO type fuel particles. Both optical metallography and SEM analysis will be used for this characterization.

Additional Info

Field	Value
Abstract	These first few sentences provide some background to the proposed work. In November 2005, the High Temperature Irradiation Facility (HTIF) was introduced at the MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory. This in-core experimental facility was installed in the MIT research reactor (MITR-II) in place of one of the fuel elements and has allowed for the irradiation of samples in an inert atmosphere (He/Ne mixture) at temperatures of 1400 degrees Celsius or higher. Several sample types including SiC composite materials (tensile, bend bar, and thermal diffusivity), matrix graphite for the high temperature gas reactor fuel compacts, and coated fuel particles (using ZrO2 as a surrogate for UO2) were irradiated in the HTIF in the MITR-II for 3 months, ending in March 2006. The objectives of the proposed work are to move the HTIF rig from the MITR-II spent fuel pool to a hot cell. Once in the hot cell, the rig and the sample capsules will be disassembled and the samples will be removed for PIE. The initial PIE will focus on determining the high temperature radiation effects on the non-fueled TRISO type fuel particles. Both optical metallography and SEM analysis will be used for this characterization.
Award Announced Date	2013-07-03T00:00:00
Awarded Institution	Idaho National Laboratory
Facility	Electron Microscopy Laboratory
Facility Tech Lead	Alina Zackrone, Gordon Kohse, Kumar Sridharan
Irradiation Facility	None
PI	Ronald Ballinger
PI Email	[email protected]
Project Type	RTE
RTE Number	367