Fission product precipitates in irradiated uranium carbonitride fuel

• Published in: Journal of nuclear materials Vol. 300; no. 2; pp. 273 - 276
• Main Author: Kleykamp, H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.02.2002; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Energy; Energy. Thermal use of fuels; Exact sciences and technology; Fission nuclear power plants; Installations for energy generation and conversion: thermal and electrical energy; P11; C05; F05; F07; U01; Uranium carbide; Uranium Carbides nitrides; Fission product; Nuclear fuel; Irradiated nuclear fuel; Concentration distribution; Nuclear reactor
• ISSN: 0022-3115; 1873-4820
• DOI: 10.1016/S0022-3115(01)00741-3

Austenitic steel-cladded uranium carbonitride fuel pins were irradiated in the BR2 up to 6.4% burnup. A cross-section of the pin RV 24 with the fuel composition UC 0.86N 0.09O 0.05 was prepared for X-ray microanalysis of the fission product precipitates. Rare-earth oxide and U(Mo,Tc)C 2 phases were observed in the whole fuel region. Bright phases present in annular rings of the outer fuel zone were identified as U 2(Tc, Ru, Rh)C 2. Alkaline-earth oxide and U–Pd–Ni phases were shown in the fuel-cladding gap. The rare-earth and alkaline-earth fission products extracted the oxygen from the fuel matrix which became nearly oxygen free. The formation of nitrides could not be detected.