| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
MS&T23: Materials Science & Technology
|
| Symposium
|
Emergent Materials Under Extremes and Decisive In Situ Characterizations
|
| Presentation Title |
Irradiation Induced Structural and Thermal Conductivity Changes in Nuclear Fuels |
| Author(s) |
Linu Malakkal, Amey Rajendra Khanolkar, Zilong Hua, Marat Khafizov, Chris Marianetti, David Hurley |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Linu Malakkal |
| Abstract Scope |
Radiation-induced defects and dopants are known to introduce lattice distortions that influence the thermophysical properties of nuclear fuels. A fundamental understanding of their impact on fuel performance is, therefore, critical for developing advanced ceramic fuels. This talk explores the impact of small-scale lattice defects (seeded via proton irradiation) on the optical, elastic, and thermal properties of hydrothermally grown thorium dioxide (ThO2) single crystals. Changes in optical properties of the irradiated ThO2 and single crystals are measured using ellipsometry and reflectometry, respectively. Elastic property changes arising from defect-induced distortions are probed from changes in the frequency of laser-generated surface acoustic waves and longitudinal coherent acoustic phonons, respectively. The thermal conductivity changes due to the irradiation-induced defects are measured using a modulated thermo-reflectance technique. When combined with ab initio calculations, our findings provide new insight into the impact of irradiation-induced defects on the properties of advanced fuels. |