NSUF 17-909: Microstructural characterization of 3% burn-up MOX fuel

Attaining fundamental understanding of fuel performance requires detailed characterization of irradiated fuels under variety of irradiation conditions. Such characterization was previously limited by instrumentation available for highly radioactive samples. Significant advancements in understanding of irradiated fuel performance during irradiation started to occur with implementation of stat-of-the-art equipment in nuclear fuels field. The objective of the proposed research is to utilize such equipment to conduct detailed microstructural examination of the fuel pin with one of the highest burn-ups ever achieved in prototypic fast reactor fuel pins. The microstructure of high burn-up mixed oxide fuel with local burn-ups of 3.4-23.7% fissions per initial metal atom (FIMA) will be examined. The wide range of burn-ups present in these samples provides a unique opportunity for studying fuel performance throughout life. The high burn-up structure (HBS) formed in irradiated fuel will be examined in addition to the radial examination of the fuel pellet, which will be focused on understanding the effects of irradiation conditions on the local microstructure of the fuel. This RTE will focus on FO-2 fuel sub-assembly, which achieved a peak burn-up for ~6% FIMA and a peak fast fluence of 9.9×1022 n/cm2 (E>0.1 MeV). The proposal will conduct microstructural characterization of the fuel using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and focused ion beam (FIB) tomography. The acquired data will be reconstructed to produce 3D volume, which will then be used as an input to MARMOT.

Additional Info

Field	Value
Abstract	Attaining fundamental understanding of fuel performance requires detailed characterization of irradiated fuels under variety of irradiation conditions. Such characterization was previously limited by instrumentation available for highly radioactive samples. Significant advancements in understanding of irradiated fuel performance during irradiation started to occur with implementation of stat-of-the-art equipment in nuclear fuels field. The objective of the proposed research is to utilize such equipment to conduct detailed microstructural examination of the fuel pin with one of the highest burn-ups ever achieved in prototypic fast reactor fuel pins. The microstructure of high burn-up mixed oxide fuel with local burn-ups of 3.4-23.7% fissions per initial metal atom (FIMA) will be examined. The wide range of burn-ups present in these samples provides a unique opportunity for studying fuel performance throughout life. The high burn-up structure (HBS) formed in irradiated fuel will be examined in addition to the radial examination of the fuel pellet, which will be focused on understanding the effects of irradiation conditions on the local microstructure of the fuel. This RTE will focus on FO-2 fuel sub-assembly, which achieved a peak burn-up for ~6% FIMA and a peak fast fluence of 9.9×1022 n/cm2 (E>0.1 MeV). The proposal will conduct microstructural characterization of the fuel using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and focused ion beam (FIB) tomography. The acquired data will be reconstructed to produce 3D volume, which will then be used as an input to MARMOT.
Award Announced Date	2017-04-26T10:12:47.91
Awarded Institution	None
Facility	None
Facility Tech Lead	Alina Zackrone
Irradiation Facility	None
PI	Riley Parrish
PI Email	[email protected]
Project Type	RTE
RTE Number	909