| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
Materials Science & Technology 2019
|
| Symposium
|
Materials for Nuclear Applications
|
| Presentation Title |
Design of Alloy Chemistry to Mitigate Fuel-Cladding Chemical Interactions in Uranium-based Metallic Fuels |
| Author(s) |
Rabi Khanal, Nathan Jerred, Indrajit Charit, Michael Benson, Robert Mariani, Samrat Choudhury |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Samrat Choudhury |
| Abstract Scope |
In metallic fuels, lanthanide fission products react with the cladding materials leading to fuel-cladding-chemical interactions (FCCI). The FCCI results in reduced cladding integrity and eventual rupture of the cladding. Addition of dopant(s) to arrest lanthanides within the fuel-matrix by forming intermetallic compounds have generated considerable attention due to its effectiveness. However, there is lack of generic principle to choose appropriate solute that can be effective in arresting lanthanides. Here, we present ab-initio based thermodynamic alloy design principles which can be effective in identifying dopant(s) that can bind a lanthanide inside the fuel-matrix. Our approach correctly identifies both known dopants like Pd and new dopants such as As and Se which can be effective in binding all lanthanides within U-matrix. Finally, we verify the theoretically predicted new dopants by characterizing cast alloys of Nd and As/Se in U-matrix. This research is being funded by DOE-NEUP, grant # DE-NE0008557. |