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Preliminary Investigation of Preparing High Burn-Up Structure in Nuclear Fuel by Flash Sintering Using CeO2 as a Surrogate

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Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters) Aims and scope

Abstract

The high burn-up structure (HBS) is characterized by the grain size of 100–300 nm and a porosity of up to 20%, which is formed at the rim of the nuclear fuel pellet due to 2–3 times higher local burn-up during the in-pile irradiation. HBS is considered a new potential structure for high-performance fuels. However, it is difficult to prepare HBS by conventional sintering methods. In this study, flash sintering was used to prepare HBS using CeO2 as a surrogate for a preliminary investigation. A new experimental configuration for rapid sintering of CeO2 pellets was provided, in which the green body can be rapidly preheated and pressure-assisted by the induction heating electrodes. An insulated quartz tube was used as the die for the flash sintered samples, allowing the current to flow through the sample and providing a stable condition for applying an external pressure of approximately 5.3–7.0 MPa during flash sintering process. Using an initial electric field of 141 V cm−1 and holding for 1–7 min at the maximum current density of ~ 98 mA mm−2, CeO2 ceramics with a grain size of 114–282 nm and a relative density of 75.4–99.7% were prepared. The densification and microstructure evolution behaviors during flash sintering in this new experimental configuration have been discussed in detail. This new experimental configuration may provide a promising approach for preparing UO2 ceramics and their HBS.

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Acknowledgements

The work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51874023, U1860206), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. FRF-TP-20-02B), the Recruitment Program of Global Experts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Science and Technology on Reactor Fuel and Materials Laboratory, Nuclear Power Institute of China, Chengdu, 610023, China

    Tongye Li, Jing Yang & Chong Yu

  2. School of Metallurgical and Ecological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China

    Yihan Liang, Yang Li & Xinfang Zhang

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  1. Tongye Li
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Correspondence to Xinfang Zhang.

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Li, T., Yang, J., Yu, C. et al. Preliminary Investigation of Preparing High Burn-Up Structure in Nuclear Fuel by Flash Sintering Using CeO2 as a Surrogate. Acta Metall. Sin. (Engl. Lett.) 34, 1758–1768 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40195-021-01230-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40195-021-01230-4

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