Nuclear Engineering and Technology

Korean Nuclear Society (한국원자력학회)
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A CLASSIFICATION OF UNIQUELY DIFFERENT TYPES OF NUCLEAR FISSION GAS BEHAVIOR

  • HOFMAN GERARD L. (Nuclear Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory) ;
  • KIM YEON SOO (Nuclear Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory)
  • Published : 2005.08.01
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Abstract

The behavior of fission gas in all major types of nuclear fuel has been reviewed with an emphasis on more recently discovered aspects. It is proposed that the behavior of fission gas can be classified in a number of characteristic types that occur at a high or low operating temperature, and/or at high or low fissile burnup. The crystal structure and microstructure of the various fuels are the determinant factors in the proposed classification scheme. Three types of behavior, characterized by anisotropic $\alpha$-U, high temperature metallic $\gamma$-U, and cubic ceramics, are well-known and have been extensively studied in the literature. Less widely known are two equally typical low temperature kinds: one associated with fission induced grain refinement and the other with fission induced amorphization. Grain refinement is seen in crystalline fuel irradiated to high burnup at low temperatures, whereas breakaway swelling is observed in amorphous fuel containing sufficient excess free-volume. Amorphous fuel, however, shows stable swelling if insufficient excess free-volume is available during irradiation.

Keywords

References

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