Plutonium redistribution in fast reactor mixed oxide fuel pins

Some redistribution effects of uranium and plutonium, caused by thermal diffusion and evaporation-condensation processes in mixed oxide fuels, are discussed by means of autoradiographs of sections of fuel pins irradiated in the fast flux of the RAPSODIE reactor. The change in the stoichiometric state as a function of burnup and the radial distribution of oxygen are described and their influence on the redistribution processes is discussed. A model and suitable data are given to calculate redistribution effects on the basis of thermal diffusion in fast reactor fuels. In fuel pins with power ratings of 500 W/cm and 600 W/cm the enrichment of plutonium around the central cavity produces an increase in the central temperature of about 100°C and 250° C, respectively.