Structure and thermal properties of as-fabricated U-7Mo/Mg and U-10Mo/Mg low-enriched uranium research reactor fuels

TAF-ID: An international thermodynamic database for nuclear fuels applications

“…For instance, the inter-diffusion of atoms between U-Mo kernels and the bulk Al matrix in U-Mo/Al fuel results in the formation of an interaction layer which is primarily UAl3 [73]. Thermodynamic calculations have assisted thermal diffusivity measurements of U-Mo/Mg fuel using a Laser Flash Analysis (LFA) technique [79]. While the LFA method provides thermal diffusivity data, thermal conductivity is a more valuable parameter to be used in heat transfer calculations.…”

“…Therefore, one must have a relationship for both density and the specific heat capacity at constant pressure in order to convert thermal diffusivity to thermal conductivity. Thermodynamic calculations with TAF-ID were made on U-Mo/Mg fuel based on the constituent phase compositions measured via neutron diffraction to compute the thermal conductivity of the fuel [79]. This overall effort helped support safety analyses of U-Mo/Mg fuel irradiations at CNL.…”

“…Specific heat capacity values of U-Mo/Mg was computed for two different compositions using the TAF-ID (Figure 23). This was used to compute thermal conductivity from thermal diffusivity measurements, which were ultimately used for in-reactor safety analyses [79].…”