The Effects of Uranium Content on the Manufacture and Properties of (U-Zr) Alloy Nuclear Fuel

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Metallic (U,Zr) alloys have been used for many years as a fuel material for low-power, low-temperature research reactors. Recently, there has been growing interest in the possibility of utilising this material as a novel "accident tolerant" fuel for existing and new commercial power reactors. However, current levels of understanding of the performance of such alloys under the much higher levels of power and temperature found in commercial power reactors is low, and there is little published information that would allow an understanding of the link between material composition and manufacturing techniques to the microstructure of the alloy, and its mechanical and thermo-physical properties. The aim of the research project is to utilise the unique capabilities of the Nuclear Fuels Centre of Excellence at Manchester to explore the effects of alloy composition and manufacturing parameters on the microstructure and thermo-physical properties of the fuel material. Alloys comprising a range of U and Zr contents will be produced by arc melting, and the properties of the resulting alloys will be investigated, including: microstructure and homogeneity, mechanical properties, physical properties, and thermal behaviour. As well as producing a valuable new database, we will seek to develop relationships between composition, manufacturing, and salient properties that will be crucial for the design of potential new fuels. If resources permit, we plan to test the performance of promising alloys under ion beam irradiation using the Pelletron accelerators at DCF.