About this Abstract |
Meeting |
MS&T23: Materials Science & Technology
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Symposium
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Ceramics for New Generation Nuclear Energy System Application
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Presentation Title |
Proton Irradiation and Characterization of ThO2, UxTh1-xO2, CeO2, UO2 and Zr:UO2 Single Crystals |
Author(s) |
James Matthew Mann, Karl Rickert, Timothy A Prusnick, Cody A. Dennett, David B. Turner, Lin Shao |
On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
James Matthew Mann |
Abstract Scope |
Understanding the effect of radiation induced defects on thermal properties is important for the accurate modeling and safe operation of next generation nuclear fuels. This is a complicated problem in ceramic fuels due to extra variables including multiple crystallographic and rotational orientations at the grain boundaries which can have profound effects on phonons. Observing defects and thermal properties in single crystals can simplify the analysis and modeling, however, the crystal growth of oxide fuels is difficult due to high melting points. The first half of the presentation will detail the hydrothermal and flux growth synthesis of ThO2, UxTh1-xO2, CeO2, UO2, and Zr:UO2 crystals. These crystals were ion irradiated with 2 MeV protons at both room temperature and 600°C to generate point defects. The second half of the talk will discuss the composition and defect analysis of these crystals (pre- and post-irradiation) via X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. |