NSUF 19-1784: Irradiation and TEM Characterization of induced Defects in a-U and d-UZr2+x Crystals

U-Zr based metallic fuel is an advanced fuel type for fast reactors. However, a lot of properties highly relevant to fuel performance of U-Zr metal fuel remains unclear, such as the irradiation behavior of constituent phases, including α-U and δ-UZr2 and the effect of radiation damage on the thermal conductivity. In this proposal, we will combine ion beam irradiation and detailed transmission electron microscopy to reveal the intrinsic features of the defect being introduced into different U-Zr compounds by ion irradiation. To build a correlation between irradiation damage and thermal conductivity of U-Zr based metal fuel, we will use proton beam to generate a relatively flat and deep damage layers of tens micron deep that allows thermal conductivity measurement based on modulated thermo-reflectance technique. The measurement will be conducted on the samples generated in this RTE but through a support of different program (EFRC-TETI). Obtained results will advance current understanding the correlation between irradiation damage and thermal properties of metal fuel.

Additional Info

Field	Value
Abstract	U-Zr based metallic fuel is an advanced fuel type for fast reactors. However, a lot of properties highly relevant to fuel performance of U-Zr metal fuel remains unclear, such as the irradiation behavior of constituent phases, including α-U and δ-UZr2 and the effect of radiation damage on the thermal conductivity. In this proposal, we will combine ion beam irradiation and detailed transmission electron microscopy to reveal the intrinsic features of the defect being introduced into different U-Zr compounds by ion irradiation. To build a correlation between irradiation damage and thermal conductivity of U-Zr based metal fuel, we will use proton beam to generate a relatively flat and deep damage layers of tens micron deep that allows thermal conductivity measurement based on modulated thermo-reflectance technique. The measurement will be conducted on the samples generated in this RTE but through a support of different program (EFRC-TETI). Obtained results will advance current understanding the correlation between irradiation damage and thermal properties of metal fuel.
Award Announced Date	2019-05-14T16:47:27.83
Awarded Institution	None
Facility	None
Facility Tech Lead	Alina Zackrone, Lin Shao
Irradiation Facility	Accelerator Laboratory
PI	Tiankai Yao
PI Email	[email protected]
Project Type	RTE
RTE Number	1784