About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Metallic Fuels - Design, Fabrication, and Characterization
|
| Presentation Title |
Microstructure Analysis of Uranium-Molybdenum Fuel Alloy from Accelerated Irradiation at Various Temperatures |
| Author(s) |
Cynthia Adkins, Geoffrey Beausoleil, Nicole Rodriguez Perez, Tiankai Yao, Tammy Trowbridge, Luca Capriotti, Maria Okuniewski |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Cynthia Adkins |
| Abstract Scope |
Many next generation light water reactor (LWR) concepts, such as mobile small modular reactors, are seeking to use smaller core dimensions than conventional reactor types. Smaller reactor cores require an increase in fissile material to maintain reactivity and so fuels with higher uranium density than UO2 must be considered. Uranium-10 wt.% Molybdenum alloy was irradiated to approximately 3% FIMA using the Fission Accelerated Steady-state Test (FAST) approach in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). Results of this irradiation test and post-irradiation examinations (PIE) including electron microscopy, fission gas collection analysis, and optical metallography are presented. The results show that unconstrained U- 10 Mo fuel (solid, Na-bonded rodlets) has a swelling threshold temperature between 400-450˚C with minimal fission gas release below this point. Microstructural evolution, fission product migration and porosity formation as functions of temperature are presented here within the framework of potential high fissile density LWR fuel. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Nuclear Materials, Characterization, Other |