Swelling Control in Uranium Carbide |
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Authors: | GUY ERVIN JR |
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Affiliation: | Atomics International, North American Rockwell Corporation, Canoga Park, California 91304 |
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Abstract: | Fine particles were dispersed in a fuel structure to trap fission gases as very small bubbles and thereby reduce fuel swelling. The dispersions were made by adding 1.5 to 3.0 wt% W to the UC; the specimens were irradiated to a maximum of ~2 at.% burnup. Density changes were used as the measure of swelling; there was much scatter in the results. Tungsten reduced the swelling when it was uniformly dispersed. For some samples having excess U and W or a segregated structure, W increased the swelling. The results tentatively confirm that fine particles are of value in reducing fission-gas swelling of carbide fuels. |
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