Effects of irradiation on the interface between U-Mo and zirconium diffusion barrier
Journal of Nuclear Materials(2018)
Abstract
Irradiated fuel plates were characterized by microscopy that focused on the interface between U–Mo and Zr. Before irradiation, there were three major sub-layers identified in the U–Mo/Zr interface, namely, UZr2, Mo2Zr, and U with low Mo. The typical total thickness of this U–Mo/Zr interaction is 2–3 μm. The UZr2 sub-layer formed during fuel plate fabrication remains stable after irradiation, without large bubbles/porosity accumulation. However, this sub-layer becomes increasingly discontinuous as burnup increases. The low-Mo sub-layer exhibits numerous sub-micron bubbles/porosity at low burnup. Larger, interconnected porosity in this sub-layer was observed in a medium-burnup fuel specimen. However, at higher burnup, regions with the extra-large bubbles/porosity (i.e., larger than 5 μm) were observed in the U-Mo fuel foil at least 5 μm away from the original location of this sub-layer. The mechanism for the formation of the extra-large bubbles/porosity is still unclear at this time. In general, the U–Mo/Zr interface in monolithic U–Mo fuels is relatively stable after irradiation. No large detrimental defects, such as large interfacial bubbles or cracks/delamination, were observed in the fuel plates characterized.
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Key words
Monolithic,Diffusion barrier,Zirconium,U-Mo,Nuclear fuel
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