Impact of UC$_2$, UC, UBC and UB$_2$ target compositions on the release of fission products
Résumé
•Synthesis and characterization of uranium compounds (UC2, UC, UBC, and UB2).•Measurement of 11 fission products reveals how crystal structure and packing fractions impact release behavior.•Correlated physicochemical properties with release fractions using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The release properties of 4 targets (UC2, UC, UBC, UB2) were measured for 11 elements (Kr, Sr, Ru, Sn, Sb, Te, I, Cs, Ba, La, and Ce) using an off-line technique. The crystal packing fraction and the size of the studied element play a key role in the release process. However, physicochemical properties are also involved, notably melting and boiling points in vacuum and the minimal oxidation state. Principal component analysis was used to investigate the interrelationships between the physicochemical properties of fission products (from Fe to Dy) and the observed releases, thereby enabling predictions to be made about the release properties of the four crystallic configurations for elements that are inaccessible in off-line experiments.