Open AccessIRRADIATION-CAPSULE STUDY OF URANIUM MONOCARBIDE
Author(s) -
Richard Price,
D. Stahl,
J.H. Stang,
E.M. Simons
Publication year - 1960
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/4193024
Subject(s) - irradiation , thermocouple , materials science , thermal conductivity , uranium , capsule , atmospheric temperature range , composite material , analytical chemistry (journal) , radiochemistry , metallurgy , chemistry , nuclear physics , thermodynamics , physics , botany , chromatography , biology
Small cylindrical specimens of enriched UC were irradiated to evaluate usefulness as a high-temperature fuel for stationary power reactors. Detailed thermal and nuclear analyses were made to arrive at an appropriate capsule design on the basis of target specimen center-line temperature ( approximately 1500 deg F), specimen surface temperature (1100 deg F), specimen composition (U--5 wt.% C), and acapsule o.d. of 1.125 in. Temperature data from thermocouples inside the capsule indicated that five of the six capsules irradiated operated at close to the design conditions. Irradiation periods for individual capsules were varied to give burnups ranging from 1,000 to 20,000 Mwd/t of U. Preliminary evidence indicates that this range of burnups was achieved. By using temperature and heat-flux data from the actual irradiations to estimate effective in-pile specimen thermal conductivities, it was found that the conductivity did not appear to vary during the exposures. (auth