Preparation, characterisation and dissolution of a CeO2 analogue for UO2 nuclear fuel

Martin C. Stennett; Claire L. Corkhill; Luke A. Marshall; Neil C. Hyatt

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2012.07.038

Preparation, characterisation and dissolution of a CeO₂ analogue for UO₂ nuclear fuel

Martin C. Stennett, Claire L. Corkhill^*, Luke A. Marshall, Neil C. Hyatt

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Earth Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

45 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The behaviour of spent nuclear fuel under geological conditions is a major issue underpinning the safety case for final disposal. This work describes the preparation and characterisation of a non-radioactive UO₂ fuel analogue, CeO₂, to be used to investigate nuclear fuel dissolution under realistic repository conditions as part of a developing EU research programme. The densification behaviour of several cerium dioxide powders, derived from cerium oxalate, were investigated to aid the selection of a suitable powder for fabrication of fuel analogues for powder dissolution tests. CeO₂ powders prepared by calcination of cerium oxalate at 800 °C and sintering at 1700 °C gave samples with similar microstructure to UO ₂ fuel and SIMFUEL. The suitability of the optimised synthesis route for dissolution was tested in a dissolution experiment conducted at 90 °C in 0.01 M HNO₃.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	182-188
Number of pages	7
Journal	Journal of Nuclear Materials
Volume	432
Issue number	1-3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2012.07.038
Publication status	Published - Jan 2013

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title = "Preparation, characterisation and dissolution of a CeO2 analogue for UO2 nuclear fuel",

abstract = "The behaviour of spent nuclear fuel under geological conditions is a major issue underpinning the safety case for final disposal. This work describes the preparation and characterisation of a non-radioactive UO2 fuel analogue, CeO2, to be used to investigate nuclear fuel dissolution under realistic repository conditions as part of a developing EU research programme. The densification behaviour of several cerium dioxide powders, derived from cerium oxalate, were investigated to aid the selection of a suitable powder for fabrication of fuel analogues for powder dissolution tests. CeO2 powders prepared by calcination of cerium oxalate at 800 °C and sintering at 1700 °C gave samples with similar microstructure to UO 2 fuel and SIMFUEL. The suitability of the optimised synthesis route for dissolution was tested in a dissolution experiment conducted at 90 °C in 0.01 M HNO3.",

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AU - Stennett, Martin C.

AU - Corkhill, Claire L.

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AU - Hyatt, Neil C.

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N2 - The behaviour of spent nuclear fuel under geological conditions is a major issue underpinning the safety case for final disposal. This work describes the preparation and characterisation of a non-radioactive UO2 fuel analogue, CeO2, to be used to investigate nuclear fuel dissolution under realistic repository conditions as part of a developing EU research programme. The densification behaviour of several cerium dioxide powders, derived from cerium oxalate, were investigated to aid the selection of a suitable powder for fabrication of fuel analogues for powder dissolution tests. CeO2 powders prepared by calcination of cerium oxalate at 800 °C and sintering at 1700 °C gave samples with similar microstructure to UO 2 fuel and SIMFUEL. The suitability of the optimised synthesis route for dissolution was tested in a dissolution experiment conducted at 90 °C in 0.01 M HNO3.

AB - The behaviour of spent nuclear fuel under geological conditions is a major issue underpinning the safety case for final disposal. This work describes the preparation and characterisation of a non-radioactive UO2 fuel analogue, CeO2, to be used to investigate nuclear fuel dissolution under realistic repository conditions as part of a developing EU research programme. The densification behaviour of several cerium dioxide powders, derived from cerium oxalate, were investigated to aid the selection of a suitable powder for fabrication of fuel analogues for powder dissolution tests. CeO2 powders prepared by calcination of cerium oxalate at 800 °C and sintering at 1700 °C gave samples with similar microstructure to UO 2 fuel and SIMFUEL. The suitability of the optimised synthesis route for dissolution was tested in a dissolution experiment conducted at 90 °C in 0.01 M HNO3.

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JO - Journal of Nuclear Materials

JF - Journal of Nuclear Materials

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ER -

Preparation, characterisation and dissolution of a CeO₂ analogue for UO₂ nuclear fuel

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