Wagner Adrian R, Harp Jason M, Archibald Kip E, Ashby Seth C, Watkins Jennifer K, Tolman Kevin R
Idaho National Laboratory, Boise State University, United States.
MethodsX. 2019 May 18;6:1252-1260. doi: 10.1016/j.mex.2019.05.016. eCollection 2019.
Uranium silicide, USi, is an accident tolerant fuel type which is gaining momentum as a replacement fuel for uranium dioxide (UO). Idaho National Laboratories has been fabricating phase pure USi fuel pellets for use in various irradiation and material characterization experiments. Stoichiometric USi fuel pellets were fabricated using a powder metallurgy and arc melting technique. The use of the stoichiometric ratio to alloy uranium and silicon, and sintering in a vacuum environment allowed for the fabrication of high density (>94% theoretical density), phase pure pellets, greater than 94% USi. Silicon volatilization was not observed in the as-sintered microstructure, which has been verified through XRD and SEM, thus eliminating the need to alloy a substoichiometric U/Si ratio. •Stoichiometric ratio of U to Si used to form USi phase.•Decrease in secondary phases present confirm absence of silicon volatilization.•Analysis via XRD and SEM confirm the phase purity of the USi fuel pellets.
硅化铀（USi）是一种事故容错燃料类型，作为二氧化铀（UO）的替代燃料正越来越受到关注。爱达荷国家实验室一直在制造相纯的USi燃料芯块，用于各种辐照和材料表征实验。化学计量比的USi燃料芯块采用粉末冶金和电弧熔炼技术制造。使用化学计量比来合金化铀和硅，并在真空环境中烧结，能够制造出高密度（>94%理论密度）、相纯的芯块，USi含量大于94%。在烧结后的微观结构中未观察到硅挥发，这已通过XRD和SEM得到验证，因此无需合金化亚化学计量比的U/Si。•用于形成USi相的U与Si的化学计量比。•二次相的减少表明不存在硅挥发。•通过XRD和SEM分析证实了USi燃料芯块的相纯度。
