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Characterization of Cast and Rolled Plates of U-10Mo Alloys


EMSL Project ID
48095

Abstract

Development and deployment of low enriched uranium (LEU) fuels has been pursued for more than 30 years, starting with the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactor (RERTR) and continued more recently through the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) Convert program. Converting the fuel used in civilian research and test reactors to LEU permanently secures the site by removing the threat posed by continued HEU operations. Several experimental programs aimed at developing of LEU fuels are in progress at PNNL in collaboration with other national laboratories and require detailed characterization of the microstructure of these fuels and cladding. The materials consist separately of depleted uranium (DU) plates used for exploring various processing routes, and actual samples from archive DU fuel foils containing 19.75%U235 that were included in the ATR Full–size plate In center flux trap Position (AFIP)-7 irradiation experiment. Up to now, characterization of the LEU fuel foils and cast DU plates at PNNL has been limited to optical and field emission gun scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM). While the FEG-SEM provides an excellent overview of the phases and chemistry inside the various forms of material, the scale of these features ranges from a few microns down to nanometers, and requires analysis using transmission electron microscopy to accurately assess the chemistry and structure of fuel plates and cast DU materials. Preparation of TEM foils is required using the Quanta 3D focused ion beam (FIB) to produce precise samples from various reaction zones and locations within the plates and foils.

Project Details

Start Date
2013-06-25
End Date
2015-09-30
Status
Closed

Team

Principal Investigator

Danny Edwards
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Co-Investigator(s)

Alan Schemer-Kohrn
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Team Members

Nicole Overman
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Vineet Joshi
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Alicia Certain
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory