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Grain Boundaries in Uranium Dioxide: Scanning Electron Microscopy Experiments and Atomistic Simulations
Author(s) -
Nerikar Pankaj V.,
Rudman Karin,
Desai Tapan G.,
Byler Darrin,
Unal Cetin,
McClellan Kenneth J.,
Phillpot Simon R.,
Sinnott Susan B.,
Peralta Pedro,
Uberuaga Blas P.,
Stanek Christopher R.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1551-2916.2010.04295.x
Subject(s) - grain boundary , electron backscatter diffraction , materials science , uranium dioxide , electron , lattice (music) , scanning electron microscope , tilt (camera) , atomic units , condensed matter physics , uranium , molecular physics , microstructure , chemistry , physics , geometry , nuclear physics , metallurgy , composite material , mathematics , quantum mechanics , acoustics
The distribution and atomic structure of grain boundaries has been investigated in UO 2 . Our scanning electron microscopic/electron backscatter diffraction experiments on a depleted UO 2 sample showed real nuclear fuels contain a combination of special coincident site lattice (CSL) and general boundaries. The experimental data indicated that ∼16% of the boundaries were CSL boundaries and the CSL distribution was dominated by low Σ boundaries; namely Σ9, Σ3, and Σ5 Based on our experimental observations, the structures of select low Σ (Σ5 tilt, Σ5 twist, Σ3 tilt) and a random boundary were analyzed in greater detail using empirical potential atomic‐scale calculations. Our calculations indicate that the boundaries have very different structures and each CSL boundary had multiple minima on the γ‐surface. The presence of a significant fraction of CSL boundaries and the differences in their structures are expected to have important consequences on fuel properties.