About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
MS&T25: Materials Science & Technology
|
| Symposium
|
Metallic Nuclear Fuel Design, Fabrication and Characterization
|
| Presentation Title |
Characterization of High Uranium Density Compositionally Complex Refractory Alloys |
| Author(s) |
Malachi Nelson, Boone Beausoleil, James Zillinger, Brian Newell, George Evans |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Malachi Nelson |
| Abstract Scope |
Metallic fuels provide attractive properties such as high fuel density, excellent thermal conductivity, and low heat capacity. However, conventional metallic fuels also exhibit significant swelling behavior which can be problematic for advanced geometries, have meta-stable phases, and phase segregation. This work investigates uranium compositionally complex alloys (UCCA) as a potential high temperature metallic fuel with BCC phase stability to inhibit swelling, maintain adequate thermal properties, and increase acceptable temperature ranges for use. RMPEA samples are fabricated with and without uranium and the resulting alloys are characterized using electron dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction to evaluate phase formation and microstructure. Differential scanning calorimetry is used to measure the thermodynamic properties of these novel alloys including heat capacity, transition temperatures, and latent heat. Samples are annealed at temperatures informed by the calorimetry measurements and resulting microstructures are also characterized for phase stability. |