FCRD Advanced Reactor (Transmutation) Fuels Handbook

Abstract

Transmutation of minor actinides such as Np, Am, and Cm in spent nuclear fuel is of international interest because of its potential for reducing the long-term health and safety hazards caused by the radioactivity of the spent fuel. One important approach to transmutation (currently being pursued by the DOE Fuel Cycle Research & Development Advanced Fuels Campaign) involves incorporating the minor actinides into U-Pu-Zr alloys, which can be used as fuel in fast reactors. U-Pu-Zr alloys are well suited for electrolytic refining, which leads to incorporation rare-earth fission products such as La, Ce, Pr, and Nd. It is, therefore, important to understand not only the properties of U-Pu-Zr alloys but also those of U-Pu-Zr alloys with concentrations of minor actinides (Np, Am) and rare-earth elements (La, Ce, Pr, and Nd) similar to those in reprocessed fuel.

NSUF Report EBSD analyses on metallic fuel samples: Tips and improvements in sample preparation

“…12 Uranium-Zirconium alloys can present different crystal structures based on sample preparation and alloy composition. 13 From the analyses on these specimens, it was noticed that increased Zr content in the sample facilitate the sample preparation and EBSD analyses. This has been related to the fact that Zr enriched phases usually exhibits lower oxidation rates.…”

An Estimation of the Thermal Properties of Pu-Rich Metallic Fuel

“…We used the database for the calculation to create U-Zr, Pu-Zr, U-Pu, and U-Pu-Zr systems based on the most recent data of the Gibbs free energy reported by Kurata [13,14] although the Pu-rich region is not well understood in the U-Pu-Zr system. Verification of the database provided by Kurata is performed by D. E. Janney et al [32]. ere is no experimental data of the melting points for the Pu-U-Zr alloys, and thus, experimental measurement will be mandatory.…”