| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5454241 | Journal of Nuclear Materials | 2017 | 10 Pages |
Abstract
Three hydride mini-fuel rods were fabricated and irradiated at the MIT nuclear reactor with a maximum burnup of 0.31% FIMA or â¼5Â MWd/kgU equivalent oxide fuel burnup. Fuel rods consisted of uranium-zirconium hydride (U (30Â wt%)ZrH1.6) pellets clad inside a LWR Zircaloy-2 tubing. The gap between the fuel and the cladding was filled with lead-bismuth eutectic alloy to eliminate the gas gap and the large temperature drop across it. Each mini-fuel rod was instrumented with two thermocouples with tips that are axially located halfway through the fuel centerline and cladding surface. In-pile temperature measurements enabled calculation of thermal conductivity in this fuel as a function of temperature and burnup. In-pile thermal conductivity at the beginning of test agreed well with out-of-pile measurements on unirradiated fuel and decreased rapidly with burnup.
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Physical Sciences and Engineering
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Nuclear Energy and Engineering
Authors
Kurt Terrani, Mehdi Balooch, David Carpenter, Gordon Kohse, Dennis Keiser, Mitchell Meyer, Donald Olander,