About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Materials and Chemistry for Molten Salt Systems
|
| Presentation Title |
Thermodynamic Modelling of Fission Product Samarium in FLiNaK (LiF–NaF–KF) |
| Author(s) |
Jack A. Wilson, Aiswarya Padinhare Manissery, Clara M. Dixon, Jorge Paz Soldan Palma, Annabelle Husek, Lianna Eaton, Yunping Zhoujin, Hans-Conrad zur Loye, Theodore M. Besmann |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Jack A. Wilson |
| Abstract Scope |
Understanding the behaviour of fission products in molten salt reactor (MSR) environments is critical to advancing MSR technology. This study presents a thermodynamic assessment of samarium-containing systems in the prototypical nuclear fuel solvent FLiNaK (LiF–NaF–KF) salt. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to determine phase equilibria and enthalpy of fusion for key pseudo-binary systems involving SmF₃. These measurements enabled calculation of the eutectic compositions and enthalpy of mixing, which was further corroborated using a correlational approach based on ionic size mismatch between alkali and trivalent metal fluorides. The result of the present work is a set of self-consistent Gibbs energy functions developed using the CALPHAD approach, which describe the chemical interactions and reactions of SmF3 in molten FLiNaK environments. The resulting optimized thermodynamic models have been incorporated into the Molten Salt Thermal Properties Database – Thermochemical (MSTDB-TC), an open-source compendium of thermodynamic models for molten salts. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Nuclear Materials, Modeling and Simulation, Phase Transformations |