Postirradiation evaluations of capsules HANS-1 and HANS-2 irradiated in the HFIR target region in support of fuel development for the advanced neutron source

This report describes the design, fabrication, irradiation, and evaluation of two capsule tests containing U{sub 3}Si{sub 2} fuel particles in contact with aluminum. The tests were in support of fuel qualification for the Advanced Neutron Source (ANS) reactor, a high-powered research reactor that was planned for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. At the time of these tests, the fuel consisted of U{sub 3}Si{sub 2}, containing highly enriched uranium dispersed in aluminum at a volume fraction of {approximately}0.15. The extremely high thermal flux in the target region of the High Flux Isotope Reactor provided up to 90% burnup in one 23-d cycle. Temperatures up to 450{degrees}C were maintained by gamma heating. Passive SiC temperature monitors were employed. The very small specimen size allowed only microstructural examination of the fuel particles but also allowed many specimens to be tested at a range of temperatures. The determination of fission gas bubble morphology by microstructural examination has been beneficial in developing a fuel performance model that allows prediction of fuel performance under these extreme conditions. The results indicate that performance of the reference fuel would be satisfactory under the ANS conditions. In addition to U{sub 3}Si{sub 2}, particles of U{sub 3}Si, UAl{sub 2}, UAl{sub x}, and U{sub 3}O{sub 8} were tested