| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
MS&T22: Materials Science & Technology
|
| Symposium
|
Advanced Characterization of Materials for Nuclear, Radiation, and Extreme Environments III
|
| Presentation Title |
Three-dimensional Characterization of Multiple Phase Regions within a Neutron Irradiated U-Zr Fuel |
| Author(s) |
Maria A. Okuniewski, Nicole Rodríguez Pérez, Alejandro Figueroa Bengoa, Kezia Peck, Jonova Thomas |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Maria A. Okuniewski |
| Abstract Scope |
Uranium-zirconium (U-Zr) alloys are candidate fuels for fast-spectrum advanced reactors that are currently under development by government and private industry. Uranium-zirconium fuels exhibit a number of favorable attributes including ease of fabrication and recycling, high thermal conductivity, high heavy metal density, and favorable response during off-normal events. During neutron irradiation U-Zr fuels are subjected to constituent redistribution of the major elements, resulting in multiple concentric redistribution regions that exist within differing radii of the fuel cross-section. These regions are complex in nature and contain multiple crystallographic phases that accommodate fission gas bubbles and solid fission products differently. This research explores two different advanced three-dimensional characterization techniques, synchrotron micro-computed tomography and focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy serial sectioning, to examine a U-10wt.%Zr fuel irradiated in the Fast Flux Test Facility to 5.7 at.% burn-up. Additionally, newly developed segmentation techniques and computer vision are applied to interpret the complex microstructures. |