| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2025 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Composite Materials for Nuclear Applications III
|
| Presentation Title |
Impact of (U,Zr)C Carbon Stoichiometry on Thermal Properties |
| Author(s) |
Joseph Schaeperkoetter, Scarlett Widgeon Paisner, Kenneth McClellan , Joshua White, Brian Taylor, Jhonathan Rosales, Erofili Kardoulaki |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Joseph Schaeperkoetter |
| Abstract Scope |
Nuclear thermal rocket propulsion improves the ratio of thrust to fuel consumption rate by nearly a factor of two compared to chemical rockets, but to achieve this high efficiency the nuclear reactor must be operated at temperatures around ~3000 K. UxZr1-xC1±δ fuel compositions demonstrate promising chemical stability as well as thermal and mechanical properties, but these properties are strongly dependent on the stoichiometry at the carbon site, where it has previously been shown that the melting point reaches a maximum at 95% occupancy of the carbon site and then falls off quickly in either direction. This talk will look at a series of carbon stoichiometries, ranging from hypo- to hyper-stoichiometric, and the impact that this carbon stoichiometry has on secondary phase formation, susceptibility to oxidation, as well as temperature dependent thermal and mechanical properties. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Nuclear Materials, High-Temperature Materials, |