About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
MS&T25: Materials Science & Technology
|
| Symposium
|
Metallic Nuclear Fuel Design, Fabrication and Characterization
|
| Presentation Title |
Volume fraction of porosity and distinct phases in irradiated FAST U-Zr fuel using manual point counting and automatic image analysis |
| Author(s) |
Lily Cait Alberts, Nicole Rodriguez Perez, Sobhan Patnaik, Geoffrey Beausoleil, Maria A. Okuniewski |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Lily Cait Alberts |
| Abstract Scope |
Swelling in uranium-zirconium (U-Zr) fuels results from the accommodation of fission products (FP) within the fuel during irradiation. The formation of pores and FP precipitates affect the mechanical and thermal properties of the fuel. Quantifying porosity and phase volume fractions is essential for predictive modeling of the evolution of the fuel properties during irradiation. However, conventional post-irradiation examination (PIE) techniques are both time consuming and cost intensive. The Fission Accelerated Steady-State Testing (FAST), using reduced-geometry specimens, offers a more efficient alternative. In this study, scaled U-Zr fuel pins were irradiated to 3.9at. % burnup, at 430-530ºC. The specimens were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and then manual point counting and automatic image analysis were applied to obtain porosity and phase fractions. The results were compared to existing literature on conventionally irradiated U-Zr fuels to assess the capability of the FAST experiments to emulate conventional fuel microstructures. |