¹³³Xe release during post-irradiation annealing of uranium metal in the presence of a constant volume of air

Abstract

The diffusion coefficients for the two diffusion steps in the¹³³Xe release curves from uranium metal were calculated. There is a linear relation between the logarithm of the diffusion coefficients and the reciprocal of the absolute temperature. The activation energies for the two diffusion processes were calculated. Two equations for the diffusion coefficients were deduced: D_(rapid)=2.926·10⁻³ e^−39740/RT cm²/sec D_(slow)=2.242·10⁻⁷ e^−27000/RTcm²/sec

The rapid diffusion was attributed to the true diffusion of¹³³Xe gas atoms, while the slow diffusion was attributed to the self-diffusion of the uranium atoms which will lead to the release of¹³³Xe gas.