Compatibility of uranium-plutonium carbide fuels and potential LMFBR cladding materials

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Abstract
The contact compatibility (in the absence of sodium) between (U,Pu)C with equivalent carbon contents of 4.83, 5.25, and 6.75 wt % and iron-, nickel- and vanadium-base alloys was studied at 700-1100{deg}C for 168-4000 hr. Austenitic iron-base alloys, containing 25 wt % or less nickel and tested at 800{deg}C for up to 4000 hr, showed little or no evidence of carbon transfer from stoichiometric or hyperstoichiometric (U{sub 0.8}Pu{sub 0.2})C that contained up to 20 vol % (U,Pu){sub 2}C{sub 3}. Three austenitic alloys containing more than 30 wt % nickel reacted with stoichiometric and hyperstoichiometric (U{sub 0.8}Pu{sub 0.2})C to form intermetallic compounds at the fuel-cladding interface and precipitates in the cladding at 700 and 800{deg}C. Vanadium-base alloys containing 15-20 wt % titanium were carburized by (U{sub 0.8}Pu{sub 0.2})C and reduced (U,Pu)P{sub 2}C{sub 3} to (U,Pu)C at 800{deg}C. However, alloys containing 5 wt % or less titanium or other relatively strong carbide formers were only slightly affected by hyperstoichiometric (U,Pu)C at 800{deg}C for up to 4000 hr.

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