Interpretation of the molybdenum behaviour in irradiated UO2 using a point defect approach

In a selected area of irradiated UO2, fission created molybdenum is shown to adopt two different chemical forms (precipitate and in solid solution in UO2) whereas no significant thermally induced diffusion is noticeable. This behaviour is interpreted thanks to a point defect approach adapted to take into account irradiation effects. From this example, requirements needed for the development of irradiation relevant point defect modelling are derived.