Rapidly solidified U-6Â wt%Nb powders for dispersion-type nuclear fuels

The microstructures of U-6 wt%Nb powder particles were investigated to assess their use as a distributed fuel phase in dispersion-type nuclear fuels. The powder was produced by centrifugal atomization, leading to rapid solidification of the molten alloy particles. The microstructure of the solidified particles consisted of a dendritic structure comprising metastable α-phase-related dendrites and interdendritic metastable γ0 phase formation. The relationship between the observed microstructure and processing conditions are discussed.