About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Metallic Fuels - Design, Fabrication, and Characterization
|
| Presentation Title |
Microstructural Investigation into Two Variants of Fuel-Cladding Chemical Interaction Observed in an Irradiated HT-9 Clad U-10Zr Metallic Fuel |
| Author(s) |
Bao-Phong H. Nguyen, Daniele Salvato, Fidelma Giulia Di Lemma, Luca Capriotti, Tiankai Yao, Assel Aitklaiyeva, Yachun Wang, Colby B. Jensen, Douglas L. Porter |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Bao-Phong H. Nguyen |
| Abstract Scope |
Previous characterization of irradiated U-Zr-based fuel cross-sections have shown that fuel-cladding chemical interaction (FCCI) can be localized to certain azimuthal positions along the fuel-cladding interface rather than uniform throughout the entire fuel-cladding interface. This raises a question: “what are the underlying causes for localized FCCI?”. Possible factors include anisotropic swelling, fabrication defects, concentrated hot spots, microstructural heterogeneities, and more. By applying various forms of electron microscopy over the FCCI regions in an FFTF irradiated HT9 clad U-10Zr fuel cross-section which exhibited two variants of FCCI, insight into how microstructure could result in preferential FCCI was obtained. We also discuss the structure of the Zr rind, nearby fission product distribution, and HT-9 cladding integrity under the investigated thermal irradiation conditions. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Nuclear Materials, Characterization, |