Uranium Nitride/Uranium Diboride oxidation studies

通过消除对安全系统的需求并提供固有的安全性，耐事故燃料可能会在核能安全和经济方面提供一个阶级性的变化。实现这一目标的一个潜在途径是用含有更多铀的燃料材料抵消增加的包层成本，从而减少所需的浓缩或延长燃料寿命。目前，所有有前途的燃料材料都面临着重大的技术挑战，其中一个关键问题是它们与高温蒸汽的反应。本项目将探讨UN内轻元素浓度对其蒸汽反应的影响。这已被证明对反应的发生和速率有显著影响，但仍知之甚少。这项工作将与正在进行的生产一种含有UB2的复合材料的努力结合起来，这种材料似乎可以改善联合国的行为，但也没有得到很好的理解。该项目将涉及使用位于曼彻斯特大学亨利·罗伊斯爵士中心大楼的核燃料卓越中心提供的最先进设备制造和表征燃料材料。

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.