Sim-Fuel and Alpha-Active Material Manufacturing and Characterisation Capability

Sim-Fuel 和 Alpha-活性材料制造和表征能力

• 批准号: EP/T011297/1
• 负责人: Timothy Abram
• 金额: $ 703.75万
• 依托单位: University of Manchester
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FT011297%2F1
• 关键词: Sim; Fuel; Alpha; Active; Material

The aim of this proposal is to provide key equipment that will deliver an internationally-unique open-access academic capability to manufacture, irradiate, and examine the pre- and post-irradiation characteristics of a range of alpha-active radioactive materials containing uranium, thorium, and plutonium and other trans-uranic elements. This equipment will be pivotal in linking together around £35M of existing nuclear research infrastructure at the University of Manchester in order to fully realise their capabilities to explore a wide range of materials that are of critical importance to the nuclear sector.The specific equipment requested is:1. a Focussed Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscope;2. a Scanning/Transmission Electron Microscope; and3. a plutonium-active inert-atmosphere glove-box for sample preparation.Hitherto, the capability to manufacture, irradiate, and characterise uranium and plutonium containing materials has only been available within large government-owned national laboratory facilities. Whilst such facilities remain vital for research into very highly active samples and materials containing large quantities of trans-uranic elements, the availability of an academic capability that is able to work with kg-quantities of uranium and gram-quantities of plutonium will provide an opportunity for a far wider range of access, and the means to undertake highly detailed and insightful studies at costs and time-scales that are simply not possible within larger nuclear-licensed facilities.The range of science and technology impacts enabled by the new equipment cover the full spectrum of the nuclear fuel cycle, and include: improved understanding of the performance of existing nuclear fuels to improve safety; the development of new fuel materials for existing and next-generation reactors; the production of representative surrogate irradiated fuels (i.e. SimFuels) to assist in the development of new recycle technologies for spent fuel; improved understanding of the behaviour of U and TRU-bearing materials within environmental samples; and improved understanding and development of materials to facilitate the disposal of radioactive wastes (e.g. immobilisation matrix materials). Researchers from all of these communities will be encouraged to access the internationally-leading capability that the new equipment provides.In addition to creating a major body of knowledge on the performance of alpha-emitting radioactive materials for the variety of different applications mentioned above, the facilities will play a major role in providing training and education in the safe handling of alpha-active materials. This will provide a new generation of post-doctoral researchers with a range of skills that will be vital in ensuring the successful implementation of the Government's nuclear strategy in the coming decades.

该提案的目的是提供关键设备，以提供国际上独特的开放获取学术能力，用于制造、辐照和检查一系列含有铀、钍和钚以及其他超铀元素的α活性放射性材料的辐照前和辐照后特性。该设备将是连接曼彻斯特大学现有约3500万英镑的核研究基础设施的关键，以充分发挥其探索对核部门至关重要的各种材料的能力。所需的具体设备是：1.聚焦离子束扫描电子显微镜;2.扫描/透射电子显微镜;和3.目前，只有政府拥有的大型国家实验室设施才有能力制造、辐照和储存含铀和钚的材料。虽然这类设施对于研究含有大量超铀元素的高活性样品和材料仍然至关重要，但拥有能够处理千克量铀和克量钚的学术能力将为更广泛的利用提供机会，以及以在更大的核武器系统中根本不可能实现的成本和时间尺度进行高度详细和有见地的研究的手段，新设备产生的科学和技术影响范围涵盖核燃料循环的所有方面，包括：增进对现有核燃料性能的了解，以提高安全性;为现有和下一代反应堆开发新的燃料材料;生产具有代表性的替代辐照燃料（即SimFuels），以协助开发新的乏燃料再循环技术;更好地了解环境样品中含铀和含钚材料的行为;提高对有助于处置放射性废物的材料（例如固定基质材料）的认识和开发。将鼓励所有这些团体的研究人员利用新设备提供的国际领先能力，除了为上述各种不同应用创造关于α放射性材料性能的大量知识外，这些设施将在提供安全处理α活性材料的培训和教育方面发挥重要作用。这将为新一代博士后研究人员提供一系列技能，这些技能对于确保政府在未来几十年成功实施核战略至关重要。

项目成果

A spatially resolved analysis of dislocation loop and nanohardness evolution in proton irradiated Zircaloys

质子辐照锆合金中位错环和纳米硬度演化的空间分辨分析

• DOI: 10.1016/j.actamat.2024.119799
• 发表时间: 2024
• 期刊: Acta Materialia
• 影响因子: 9.4
• 作者: Koç Ö

Development and Comparison of Field Assisted Sintering Techniques to Densify CeO2 Ceramics

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2022.06.079
• 发表时间: 2022-07
• 期刊: Journal of the European Ceramic Society
• 影响因子: 5.7
• 作者: R. Harrison;J. Morgan;J. Buckley;S. Bostanchi;C. Green;R. White;D. Pearmain;T. Abram;D. Goddard;N.J. Barron

HAXPES reference spectra of UO2 generated with Ga Ka x-ray source

Ga Ka X 射线源生成的 UO2 HAXPES 参考光谱

• DOI: 10.1116/6.0003057
• 发表时间: 2024
• 期刊: Surface Science Spectra
• 影响因子: 1.3
• 作者: Dunn S

Atomistic level study of Ce3Si2 oxidation as an accident tolerant nuclear fuel surrogate

• DOI: 10.1016/j.corsci.2019.108332
• 发表时间: 2020-03
• 期刊: Corrosion Science
• 影响因子: 8.3
• 作者: R. Harrison;R. Worth;J. Buckley;T. Abram

Spark plasma sintering of (U,Ce)O2 as a MOx nuclear fuel surrogate

火花等离子体烧结 (U,Ce)O2 作为 MOx 核燃料替代品

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2021.153302
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Journal of Nuclear Materials
• 影响因子: 3.1
• 作者: Harrison R