Uranium Nitride/Uranium Diboride oxidation studies

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Accident Tolerant Fuels could potentially provide a step-change in nuclear energy safety and economics, by removing the need for safety systems and providing inherent safety. One potential route to this is by offsetting an increased cladding cost with a fuel material containing more uranium, reducing the required enrichment or extending fuel life. At present there are significant technical challenges around all promising fuel materials, with a key issue being their reaction with high temperature steam. This project will explore the effects of light element concentration within UN on it's steam reaction. This has been shown to have significant effects on both the onset and rate of reaction, but remains poorly understood. This work will be combined with ongoing efforts to produce a composite material with UB2, which appears to improve UN behaviour but is also not well understood. The project will involve the manufacture and characterisation of fuel material using state-of-the-art facilities available through the Nuclear Fuel Centre of Excellence, located in the Sir Henry Royce Hub Building at the University of Manchester.