NSUF 13-427: Microstructures of Low-Dose He2+ and H+ Ion Irradiated UO2
The microstructure of nuclear fuel, UO2, is strongly modified under irradiation by the release of fission products, irradiation damage, and high operation temperature combined with poor thermal conductivity. Irradiation damage accumulation during nuclear plant operation reduces the thermal conductivity of UO2, which leads to reduced fuel lifetime and increased operation costs. Despite large empirical databases for thermal transport in UO2 exists, there is a lack of fundamental understanding between the irradiation microstructures and thermal transport properties. The main motivation of the proposed research is to develop a controlled microstructure in UO2 by He2+ and H+ ion irradiations and examine the effect of microstructure on the thermal conductivity. Low-dose (< 1 dpa) ion-irradiation microstructures of UO2 have been previously studied by indirect methods, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. The irradiation defects have been identified as (vacancy-interstitial) Frankel pairs and/or small defect clusters. However, the link between the thermal transport properties and the irradiation damage is yet undiscovered. By using ion irradiations (at UW), laser-based thermal conductivity measurements (at INL), advanced X-ray methods (SSRL at Stanford), and the proposed TEM/STEM work at CAES, state-of-the-art-knowledge from a well charachterized irradiation damage on thermal transport properties of UO2 will be obtained. The ion irradiations, X-ray charachterizations, and thermal transport measurements are under way and the first results are expected by June 2013.
Informație Adițională
| Cîmp | Valoare |
|---|---|
| Awarded Institution | University of Wisconsin |
| Embargo End Date | 2026-02-27 |
| Facility Tech Lead | Mukesh Bachhav |
| NSUF Call | FY 2013 RTE Solicitation |
| PI | Janne Pakarinen |
| Project Member | Dr. Jian Gan, Research Scientist - Idaho National Laboratory (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9121-4164) |
| Project Member | Mahima Gupta - University of Wisconsin |
| Project Member | Janne Pakarinen - Consultant |
| Project Member | Todd Allen, Professor - University of Wisconsin (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2372-7259) |
| Project Type | RTE |
| Publication | Microstructure changes and thermal conductivity reduction in UO2 following 3.9 MeV He2+ ion irradiation Janne Pakarinen, Marat Khafizov, Lingfeng He, Jian Gan, Anter EL-AZAB, Andrew Nelson, Chris Wetteland, David Hurley, Todd Allen Journal of Nuclear Materials 454 2014-10-03 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022311514004929 |
| Publication | 2.6 MeV proton irradiation effects on the surface integrity of depleted UO2 Todd Allen, Anter EL-AZAB, Jian Gan, Mahima Gupta, Andrew Nelson, Janne Pakarinen Nuclear Instruments and Methods B 319 2014-01-01 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168583X1301152X |
| Publication | Bubble Character, Kr Distribution and Chemical Equilibrium in UO2 Todd Allen, Anter EL-AZAB, Jian Gan, Mahima Gupta, Lingfeng He, Hunter Henderson, Michele Manuel, Andrew Nelson, Janne Pakarinen, Billy Valderrama Journal of Nuclear Materials None 2015-01-01 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022311514006163?via%3Dihub#ak005 |
| RTE Number | 427 |