About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
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Ceramics and Ceramic-Based Composites for Nuclear Applications III
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| Presentation Title |
Evolution of Fission Products and Nanograins in UO<sub>2</sub> under In-Situ Ion Irradiation |
| Author(s) |
Sadman Sakib, Yunyuan Lu, Cameron B. Howard, Jatuporn Burns, Wei-Ying Chen, Linu Malakkal, Chao Jiang, Sudipta Biswas, Fabiola Cappia, Lingfeng He |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Sadman Sakib |
| Abstract Scope |
Understanding how fission products and nanograins evolve in rim of UO<sub>2</sub> fuel is vital for predicting high burnup fuel behavior. This work presents in-situ ion irradiation experiments on spent UO<sub>2</sub> fuel from Belgium Reactor 3 using 1 MeV Kr<sup>2+</sup> and 300 keV Xe<sup>+</sup> ions at temperatures from −223°C to 500°C. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that fission gas bubbles and five metal precipitates (5MPs) shrink progressively with dose, with higher temperatures and fluxes accelerating this effect. At −223°C, reprecipitation phenomenon was observed, consistent with the Nelson-Hudson-Mazey model. Nanograin regions indicative of early high burnup structure did not undergo further subdivision but exhibited growth with increasing dose at higher temperatures. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirmed faster dissolution of 5MPs than that of fission gas precipitates, suggesting enhanced diffusion of 5MPs under irradiation. These findings improve understanding of fuel microstructural evolution and provide valuable input for assessing fuel behavior during extended reactor operation. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |