Influence of silicon impurity on the reaction of U-0.7wt.%Ti alloy and hydrogen

Effect of silicon impurity on the hydriding kinetics of U-0.7wt.%Ti alloy has been studied. The hydriding induction time has been employed to evaluate the corrosion of U-0.7wt.%Ti alloy. A microscope has been used to record the change of surface morphology during the whole reaction. Three sets of U-0.7wt.%Ti samples with different silicon impurity forms were studied, including cast sample, quench cooled sample (dissolved silicon) and slow cooled sample (U3Si phase). The experiment results show that at early stage, hydriding kinetics display a strong dependence on the silicon content and heat treatments. Both dissolved silicon and U3Si phase can accelerate the hydriding rate of U-0.7wt.%Ti alloy by promoting the hydriding nucleation.