Influence of the Microstructure on the U1-yAmyO2-x (y= 0.1; 0.15) Pellet Macroscopic Swelling

D. Prieur (1) , A. Jankowiak (1) , C. Leorier (1) , N. Herlet (1) , L. Donnet (1) , P. Dehaudt (1) , J. Léchelle (2) , Jean-Paul Laval (3) , Philippe Blanchart (4)

1 CEA
2 LMPC - Laboratoire d'étude des Microstructures et des Propriétés des Combustibles
3 Axe 3 : organisation structurale multiéchelle des matériaux
4 GEMH - Groupe d'Etudes des Matériaux Hétérogènes

This work is devoted to the study of the geometrical stability in time of UyAm1-yO2-x pellet due to self-irradiation at room temperature. Dense and tailored porosity U1-yAmyO2-x (y=0.10; 0.15) compounds were fabricated by a powder metallurgy process. Up to 3.4.1017 α particles/g, an increase in the diameter of 0.9% was observed for the dense compounds while for the tailored porosity material a diameter increase of 0.4% was observed. Swelling laws have been established from the experimental data.

Mots clés: Americium; Transmutation; Fuel; Self-irradiation; Microstructure; Swelling

D. Prieur, A. Jankowiak, C. Leorier, N. Herlet, L. Donnet, et al.. Influence of the Microstructure on the U1-yAmyO2-x (y= 0.1; 0.15) Pellet Macroscopic Swelling. 5th Forum on New Materials, Jun 2010, Montecatini Terme, Italy. pp.104-108, ⟨10.4028/www.scientific.net/AST.73.104⟩. ⟨hal-00573384⟩