| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2025 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Special Topics in Nuclear Materials: Lessons Learned; Non-Energy Systems; and Coupled Extremes
|
| Presentation Title |
Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) Induced Defects and Implantation Induced Impurities in Uranium Nitride (UN) and SIMFUEL Pellets |
| Author(s) |
Elina Charatsidou, Maria Giamouridou, Nils Wikström, Robert Frost, Gyula Nagy, Petter Ström, Daniel Primetzhofer, Pär Olsson |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Elina Charatsidou |
| Abstract Scope |
Characterization of mechanical and thermophysical properties of nuclear fuels under irradiation is essential in understanding their behavior and predicting their performance. This study investigated defects induced by proton irradiation and ion implantation and the in-situ degradation of the thermal properties of UN and composite fuels under various temperatures and doses. Solid (Zr, Ba) and gaseous (Kr, Xe) elements, representing fission products, were implanted in UN pellets to study microstructural, mechanical, and thermal degradation. However, during the implantation significant oxygen contamination on UN was introduced resulting in surface oxidation, affecting the possibility for further surface-sensitive studies. Additionally, during post irradiation characterization, EDS-generated artifacts on the sample surface were at the time mistakenly attributed to irradiation-induced defects. Lessons learned from these studies will be presented and discussed in this talk. Modifications will be suggested providing an optimized experimental setup to avoid previous mistakes and to reduce impurities during implantation and measurements. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Ceramics, Characterization, Nuclear Materials |