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Recent Results of Microstructural Characterization of Irradiated Light Water Reactor Fuels using Scanning and Transmission Electron Microscopy

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Recent electron microscopy investigations are presented with an emphasis on properties related to the safe extended operation of nuclear fuel. In particular, this article considers the formation of the high burnup structure (HBS), the prevailing microstructural aspects associated to spent fuel aging, and the release of fission products under accidental condition. Examples of microstructures associated with transient-tested samples but also with very high burnup fuel or heterogeneous mixed oxides (MOX) are presented together with results on damage formation in UO2 samples doped with 238Pu to study the specific effect of alpha damage on the microstructure during the cooling/storage time of irradiated fuel. Examples of single-effect studies (e.g., on the behavior of tellurium, a typical volatile fission product) using ion implantations are also presented.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the colleagues from the Hot-Cell Technology Unit for helping in the sample preparation, to those of the Nuclear Fuels Fabrication unit for the synthesis of the plutonium doped samples, as well as to the team that has performed the implantations with tellurium at INFP Karlsruhe.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Transuranium Elements, 76125, Karlsruhe, Germany

    T. Wiss, H. Thiele, A. Janssen, D. Papaioannou, V. V. Rondinella & R. J. M. Konings

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  1. T. Wiss
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  2. H. Thiele
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  3. A. Janssen
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  4. D. Papaioannou
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  5. V. V. Rondinella
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  6. R. J. M. Konings
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Correspondence to T. Wiss.

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Wiss, T., Thiele, H., Janssen, A. et al. Recent Results of Microstructural Characterization of Irradiated Light Water Reactor Fuels using Scanning and Transmission Electron Microscopy. JOM 64, 1390–1395 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-012-0483-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-012-0483-1

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