Abstract
Understanding the structural evolution and reduction-oxidation behavior of nuclear fuel and cladding during operation is essential for predicting performance during and after service in light water reactors. Using TEM/STEM imaging of cross-sections of the fuel-cladding oxide interface region of high burnup BWR fuel, fission recoil radiation was demonstrated to not only stabilize the tetragonal phase of ZrO2 at temperatures well below the equilibrium temperature, but also to cause grain growth proportional to the fission recoil radiation damage. The tetragonal phase ZrO2 was exclusively present (no monoclinic phase)only in the region where fission product metal particles were found (∼6 μm depth).
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 120-125 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Journal of Nuclear Materials |
| Volume | 521 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 1 2019 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
This work was supported by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development : Nuclear Processing Science Initiative (NPSI). Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is a multi-program national laboratory operated for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) by Battelle Memorial Institute under Contract DE-AC05-76RL0-1830 . FIB/SEM analysis was performed in the PNNL Radiochemical Processing Laboratory Microscopy Quiet Suite. STEM and TEM analyses were performed using the JEOL ARM200CF microscope as part of the PNNL Energy and Environment Directorate Institutional Microscopy Tools. We thank Paul J. MacFarlan and Jamin A. Trevino for the transfer of the sample from the hot cell and the SEM mount preparation.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Nuclear Processing Science Initiative | |
| U.S. Department of Energy | |
| Battelle | DE-AC05-76RL0-1830 |
| Laboratory Directed Research and Development |
Keywords
- Fuel-cladding interface
- Noble metal phase particles
- Precession electron diffraction
- Tetragonal phase zirconia
- Transmission electron microscopy