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

多年来，金属(U，Zr)合金一直被用作低功率、低温研究堆的燃料材料。最近，人们越来越有兴趣将这种材料用作现有和新的商业动力反应堆的一种新型“事故容忍”燃料。然而，目前对这类合金在商业动力反应堆中发现的更高功率和温度水平下的性能的了解程度很低，几乎没有出版的信息能够理解材料成分和制造技术与合金的微观结构及其机械和热物理性能之间的联系。该研究项目的目的是利用曼彻斯特核燃料卓越中心的独特能力，探索合金成分和制造参数对燃料材料的微观结构和热物理性能的影响。采用电弧炉熔炼的方法生产各种U和Zr含量的合金，并对所得合金的性能进行研究，包括：显微组织和均匀性、机械性能、物理性能和热行为。除了制作一个有价值的新数据库外，我们还将寻求建立成分、制造和显著性能之间的关系，这些关系将对潜在的新燃料的设计至关重要。如果资源允许，我们计划在DCF使用Pelletron加速器测试有希望的合金在离子束照射下的性能。

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.