Oxidation Behavior of Nonirradiated UO2

Abstract
As a first phase in the investigation of the feasibility of storing light water reactor spent fuel in air, oxidation tests were performed on nonirradiated UO2 pellets over the temperature range of 150 to 345°C. The objective of the tests was to determine the important independent variables that affect the oxidation behavior of fuel. Pellets tested at the high end of the temperature range (>230°C) oxidized very rapidly from the standpoint of projected storage periods in air. These results suggest that acceptable spent-fuel storage temperatures should be