US3258333A - Uranium alloys containing small amounts of alloying elements - Google Patents

Uranium alloys containing small amounts of alloying elements Download PDF

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Publication number
US3258333A
US3258333A US384254A US38425464A US3258333A US 3258333 A US3258333 A US 3258333A US 384254 A US384254 A US 384254A US 38425464 A US38425464 A US 38425464A US 3258333 A US3258333 A US 3258333A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
uranium
small amounts
alloying elements
alloys containing
containing small
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US384254A
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English (en)
Inventor
Aubert Henri
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Commissariat a lEnergie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives CEA
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Commissariat a lEnergie Atomique CEA
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Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3258333A publication Critical patent/US3258333A/en
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Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
    • C22C—ALLOYS
    • C22C43/00—Alloys containing radioactive materials
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G21—NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
    • G21C—NUCLEAR REACTORS
    • G21C3/00—Reactor fuel elements and their assemblies; Selection of substances for use as reactor fuel elements
    • G21C3/42—Selection of substances for use as reactor fuel
    • G21C3/58—Solid reactor fuel Pellets made of fissile material
    • G21C3/60—Metallic fuel; Intermetallic dispersions
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E30/00—Energy generation of nuclear origin
    • Y02E30/30—Nuclear fission reactors

Definitions

  • uranium metal in the alpha phase at the time of in-pile irradiation are of minimum extent when the grain of the metal is fine and without preferential orientation.
  • a standard method of refining of the grain structure of pure uranium consists in carrying out after casting an annealing treatment in the beta phase followed by quenching.
  • .a treatment of this kind vis effective only in the case of small samples and remains ineffective when performed on solid rods.
  • the fine grain structure which is obtained by means of this method is not stable under the influence of irradiation and thermal cycling.
  • the present invention relates to uranium alloys which carry low proportions of alloying constituents and which have a fine and uniform grain structure in the alpha phase, said alloys being intended to be directly employed in a nuclear reactor in the as-cast state and without any need of subsequent heat treatment.
  • Melting is performed in a crucible, for example of graphite with a lining of aluminum oxide or of calcium zirconate.
  • the uranium metal and its addition elements are melted together in vacuo (for example a vacuum of to 10" millimeters of mercury) and maintained in' the molten state for a certain period of time in order to achieve homogeneity of the bath; the casting operation is then carried out, again in vacuo and at a temperature which is advantageously comprised between 1180 and 1450 C.
  • vacuo for example a vacuum of to 10" millimeters of mercury
  • the casting is effected in molds which can either be at room temperature or which are preferably preheated, this latter case having the advantage of preventing the formation of pores during solidification of the metal.
  • molds which can either be at room temperature or which are preferably preheated, this latter case having the advantage of preventing the formation of pores during solidification of the metal.
  • the following temperature ranges can be employed for the preheating process: base of the molds: 300 to 800 0; top of the molds: 600 to 1100 C., the top of the molds being always at a temperature which is higher than that of the base in order to prevent premature solidification in the top portion.
  • the alloys of the invention are of particular interest in that they make it possible to obtain a fine grain structure in the alpha phase irrespective of the rate of cooling, said cooling rate being preferably comprised between 300 C./hr. and 700 C./hr.; the alloy has a fine alpha-phase grain structure even if the cooling rate reaches low values of the order of C./hr.
  • the structure .which is obtained in the as-cast state is uniform and the average grain size is 0.3 mm., and in all cases smaller than 1 mm.
  • a uranium alloy comprising by weight 0.10 to 0.30% molybdenum, 0.05 to 0.20% chromium, 0.01 to 0.05% iron, the remainder being uranium.

Landscapes

  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Dispersion Chemistry (AREA)
  • Plasma & Fusion (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • High Energy & Nuclear Physics (AREA)
  • Materials Engineering (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Metallurgy (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Manufacture And Refinement Of Metals (AREA)
US384254A 1963-08-07 1964-07-21 Uranium alloys containing small amounts of alloying elements Expired - Lifetime US3258333A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR943982A FR1378895A (fr) 1963-08-07 1963-08-07 Alliages d'uranium faiblement alliés

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3258333A true US3258333A (en) 1966-06-28

Family

ID=8810067

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US384254A Expired - Lifetime US3258333A (en) 1963-08-07 1964-07-21 Uranium alloys containing small amounts of alloying elements

Country Status (11)

Country Link
US (1) US3258333A (da)
BE (1) BE651085A (da)
CH (1) CH429961A (da)
DE (1) DE1233146B (da)
DK (1) DK105620C (da)
ES (1) ES302908A1 (da)
FR (1) FR1378895A (da)
GB (1) GB1013249A (da)
LU (1) LU46582A1 (da)
NL (1) NL6408466A (da)
OA (1) OA00200A (da)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3545966A (en) * 1968-02-27 1970-12-08 Etude La Realisation De Combus Manufacture of improved nuclear fuels
US5999585A (en) * 1993-06-04 1999-12-07 Commissariat A L'energie Atomique Nuclear fuel having improved fission product retention properties
US6221286B1 (en) * 1996-08-09 2001-04-24 Framatome Nuclear fuel having improved fission product retention properties

Family Cites Families (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
NL207549A (da) * 1955-06-14

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
None *

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3545966A (en) * 1968-02-27 1970-12-08 Etude La Realisation De Combus Manufacture of improved nuclear fuels
US5999585A (en) * 1993-06-04 1999-12-07 Commissariat A L'energie Atomique Nuclear fuel having improved fission product retention properties
US6221286B1 (en) * 1996-08-09 2001-04-24 Framatome Nuclear fuel having improved fission product retention properties

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
LU46582A1 (da) 1964-09-21
FR1378895A (fr) 1964-11-20
NL6408466A (da) 1965-02-08
ES302908A1 (es) 1967-02-01
CH429961A (fr) 1967-02-15
DK105620C (da) 1966-10-17
GB1013249A (en) 1965-12-15
OA00200A (fr) 1966-03-15
BE651085A (da) 1964-11-16
DE1233146B (de) 1967-01-26

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