About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
Materials in Nuclear Energy Systems (MiNES) 2025
|
| Symposium
|
Materials in Nuclear Energy Systems (MiNES) 2025
|
| Presentation Title |
Oxidation of the UN-UB2 System During Off Normal Reactor Conditions |
| Author(s) |
Nathaniel Engel, Jesus Facundo, Jennifer Stansby, Anthony Horsman, Elizabeth Sooby |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Nathaniel Engel |
| Abstract Scope |
Under off-normal light water reactor conditions, there is a risk that the fuel cladding cracks, resulting in a breach that could allow the fuel to come into contact with the coolant. Uranium nitride (UN) and Uranium diboride (UB2) are two potential candidates for advanced technical fuels, compared to Uranium dioxide (UO2) they have higher thermal conductivities and Uranium densities and have been designed to withstand extreme conditions. Previously, both UN and UB2 have been tested in steam environments, and it was found that UB2 has a higher oxidation onset temperature and does not gain as much mass of UN. In this study, we investigate the oxidation kinetics of UB2, UN, and UN-UB2 composites in a flowing steam environment using simultaneous thermal analysis (STA). The samples were synthesized by the arc-melt method and were characterized using X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. Results reveal distinct impacts of the addition of UB2 to UN on the oxidation characteristics and performance. These findings support the development of composite advanced technical fuels and give insight into the improvements that composite fuels can provide. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Undecided |