Improving the Performance of Advanced Technology Fuels

提高先进技术燃料的性能

• 批准号: 2462346
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Bristol
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2462346
• 关键词: Improving; Performance; Advanced; Technology; Fuels

The drive for change in nuclear fuel design is towards accident tolerance, which specifically relates to the absence or delay of high-temperature clad oxidation by coolant. Any replacement for UO2 fuel must offer a combination of safer operation with lower fuel cycle cost; either longer cycles or lower enrichment. The candidate material that offers the greatest combination of these properties with the potential for industrial scale-up is currently uranium mononitride, UN. However, there is a major behavioural draw-back in that water, and more importantly during operation, high T water/steam, is significantly more corrosive to UN than the UO2 oxide fuel currently employed in water moderated reactors.The proposed PhD project will specifically address the two key issues that are driving research of accident tolerant fuels (ATF): thermal conductivity degradation and corrosion behaviour, with the main focus on the fuel-water interaction. This interaction will be explored with relation to three key stages of the fuel life cycle, in operando (high temperature water/steam), in interim storage and in long-term waste storage scenarios. The project will require synthesis of both bulk and thin film samples; polycrystalline and single crystals, using UHV gas rigs and a dedicated actinide dc magnetron sputter system. Characterisation will be conducted using a range of surface analysis techniques, with particular emphasis on utilising x-ray diffraction (XRD) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). We will make use of the Bristol Oxford Nuclear Research Centre (NRC) and employ the Oxford TEM suite to investigate the fuel surfaces on an atomic scale.The PhD is at the forefront of current UK research and development in nuclear fission. It will investigate potential avenues for improving fuel-water performance, including dopants and surface coatings, providing a comprehensive review of possible options

改变核燃料设计的驱动力是朝着事故容限的方向发展，事故容限具体涉及到冷却剂对高温包壳氧化的抑制或延迟。二氧化铀燃料的任何替代品都必须同时提供更安全的操作和更低的燃料循环成本;或者是更长的循环，或者是更低的浓缩度。目前，将这些特性与工业规模扩大潜力最大化结合的候选材料是一氮化铀。然而，在水方面存在一个主要的行为缺陷，更重要的是，在运行过程中，高温水/蒸汽对UN的腐蚀性要比目前水慢化反应堆中使用的二氧化铀氧化物燃料大得多。拟议的博士项目将具体解决推动事故耐受燃料（ATF）研究的两个关键问题：热传导性退化和腐蚀行为，主要侧重于燃料-水的相互作用。将结合燃料生命周期的三个关键阶段探讨这种相互作用，这三个阶段是：运行阶段（高温水/蒸汽）、临时储存阶段和长期废物储存阶段。该项目将需要使用特高压气体钻机和专用的锕系直流磁控溅射系统合成块状和薄膜样品;多晶和单晶。将使用一系列表面分析技术进行表征，特别强调利用X射线衍射（XRD）和X射线光电子能谱（XPS）。我们将利用布里斯托牛津核研究中心（NRC），并采用牛津TEM套件，调查在原子尺度上的燃料表面。博士是在当前英国的核裂变研究和发展的最前沿。它将调查改善燃料-水性能的潜在途径，包括掺杂剂和表面涂层，对可能的选择进行全面审查