NSUF 19-1806: The impact of grain orientation on the nucleation of fission gas bubbles in U-Mo fuel
It has been postulated that fission gas bubble growth and nucleation is driven by the sub-division of grains during irradiation. Because of the complex nature of mechanisms that occur in reactor environments, it is reasonable to believe that there are other mechanisms that play a significant role in the distribution of fission gas bubbles that can lead to fuel failure. Despite the work conducted to date, the impact of grain orientation on the accumulation, distribution, and growth of fission gas bubbles has not investigated experimentally. Elucidating the role of grain orientation on fission gas diffusion is important to the understanding and advancement of fuels in reactor-like environments. 3D reconstruction is crucial to understanding the microstructural evolution and hence behavior of irradiated fuel. This work uses FIB/SEM equipped with EDS and EBSD capabilities to investigate the role of grain orientation by identifying a potential correlation between grain orientation and fission gas bubble accumulation. Furthermore, 3D reconstruction of the acquired 2D images will allow us to discover if the porosity is interconnected, which could lead to breakaway swelling. It is imperative to establish the onset of interconnection of the porosity to better understand the end of life irradiation properties of the U-Mo fuel. 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 | It has been postulated that fission gas bubble growth and nucleation is driven by the sub-division of grains during irradiation. Because of the complex nature of mechanisms that occur in reactor environments, it is reasonable to believe that there are other mechanisms that play a significant role in the distribution of fission gas bubbles that can lead to fuel failure. Despite the work conducted to date, the impact of grain orientation on the accumulation, distribution, and growth of fission gas bubbles has not investigated experimentally. Elucidating the role of grain orientation on fission gas diffusion is important to the understanding and advancement of fuels in reactor-like environments. 3D reconstruction is crucial to understanding the microstructural evolution and hence behavior of irradiated fuel. This work uses FIB/SEM equipped with EDS and EBSD capabilities to investigate the role of grain orientation by identifying a potential correlation between grain orientation and fission gas bubble accumulation. Furthermore, 3D reconstruction of the acquired 2D images will allow us to discover if the porosity is interconnected, which could lead to breakaway swelling. It is imperative to establish the onset of interconnection of the porosity to better understand the end of life irradiation properties of the U-Mo fuel. The acquired data will be reconstructed to produce 3D volume, which will then be used as an input to MARMOT. |
| Award Announced Date | 2019-05-14T17:12:37.477 |
| Awarded Institution | None |
| Facility | None |
| Facility Tech Lead | Alina Zackrone |
| Irradiation Facility | None |
| PI | Charlyne Smith |
| PI Email | [email protected] |
| Project Type | RTE |
| RTE Number | 1806 |