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International Union of Crystallography, Journal of Applied Crystallography, 3(49), p. 923-933, 2016

DOI: 10.1107/s1600576716005744

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Neutron and hard X-ray diffraction studies of the isothermal transformation kinetics in the research reactor fuel candidate U–8 wt%Mo

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

Exposing uranium–molybdenum alloys (UMo) retained in the γ phase to elevated temperatures leads to transformation reactions during which the γ-UMo phase decomposes into the thermal equilibrium phases,i.e.U2Mo and α-U. Since α-U is not suitable for a nuclear fuel exposed to high burn-up, it is necessary to retain the γ-UMo phase during the production process of the fuel elements for modern high-performance research reactors. The present work deals with the isothermal transformation kinetics in U–8 wt%Mo alloys for temperatures between 673 and 798 K and annealing durations of up to 48 h. Annealed samples were examined at room temperature using either X-ray or neutron diffraction to determine the phase composition after thermal treatment, andin situannealing studies disclosed the onset of phase decomposition. While for temperatures of 698 and 673 K the start of decomposition is delayed, for higher temperatures the first signs of transformation are already observable within 3 h of annealing. The typical C-shaped curves in a time–temperature–transformation (TTT) diagram for both the start and the end of phase decomposition could be determined in the observed temperature regime. Therefore, a revised TTT diagram for U–8 wt%Mo between 673 and 798 K and annealing durations of up to 48 h is proposed.