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Article Dans Une Revue Journal of Nuclear Materials Année : 2024

On the oxidation and ignition of uranium carbide fragments in air and comparison with zirconium carbide oxidation

Résumé

Oxidation of uranium carbide (UC) small fragments from sintered pellets was experimentally tested to better understand UC safe-handling procedures given the renewed interest of non-oxide fuels for high temperature gas or liquid metal cooled reactors. Transformation from UC to U 3 O 8 via a selfignition reaction was observed at partial pressure of oxygen as low as 10 Pa. The heat output from UC self-ignition in fragments (not-free from UO 2 contamination) previously stored in either air atmosphere or inert-atmosphere during a three months period was monitored at 973 K and 1073 K in air atmosphere in a TGA/DTA and no difference could be observed. Residual carbon content, measured as amorphous carbon, carbide or CO/CO 2 , decreased with exposition temperature in U 3 O 8 resulting oxide, this is in contrast with zirconium carbide resulting oxide, ZrO 2. Cracking and stresses accumulated in the oxide were highest for UC to U 3 O 8 compared to UC to UO 2 reactions and ZrC to ZrO 2 reactions.

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Dates et versions

hal-04487913 , version 1 (04-03-2024)

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Claudia Gasparrini, Renaud Podor, Olivier Fiquet, Michael J. D. Rushton, William E. Lee. On the oxidation and ignition of uranium carbide fragments in air and comparison with zirconium carbide oxidation. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2024, 592, pp.154944. ⟨10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.154944⟩. ⟨hal-04487913⟩
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