TY - JOUR
T1 - In-pile Xe diffusion coefficient in UO2 determined from the modeling of intragranular bubble growth and destruction under irradiation
AU - Govers, Kevin
AU - Lemehov, Sergei
AU - Verwerft, Marc
N1 - Score = 10
PY - 2008/3/15
Y1 - 2008/3/15
N2 - Intragranular bubbles grow in the nuclear fuel by diffusion and precipitation of fission gases, mainly xenon; and are ultimately destroyed, under irradiation, by fission fragments. This article will attempt to determine the in-pile bubble distributions taking into account the evolution of the concentration profile around a bubble during its growth and the destruction process by fission fragments. From these distributions a relation between the bubble mean radius and the diffusion coefficient of xenon can be established, allowing the determination, from experimental measurements of intragranular bubble sizes, of the in-pile Xe diffusion coefficient in UO2. The estimated activation energy (0.9 eV) is about one order of magnitude lower than the widely used value of 3.9 eV determined from out-of-pile experiments. This effect can be attributed to the presence of point defects created by the irradiation.
AB - Intragranular bubbles grow in the nuclear fuel by diffusion and precipitation of fission gases, mainly xenon; and are ultimately destroyed, under irradiation, by fission fragments. This article will attempt to determine the in-pile bubble distributions taking into account the evolution of the concentration profile around a bubble during its growth and the destruction process by fission fragments. From these distributions a relation between the bubble mean radius and the diffusion coefficient of xenon can be established, allowing the determination, from experimental measurements of intragranular bubble sizes, of the in-pile Xe diffusion coefficient in UO2. The estimated activation energy (0.9 eV) is about one order of magnitude lower than the widely used value of 3.9 eV determined from out-of-pile experiments. This effect can be attributed to the presence of point defects created by the irradiation.
KW - uranium dioxide xenon UO2 Xe diffusion coefficient in pile defects
UR - http://ecm.sckcen.be/OTCS/llisapi.dll/open/ezp_86934
UR - http://knowledgecentre.sckcen.be/so2/bibref/4853
U2 - 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2007.10.005
DO - 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2007.10.005
M3 - Article
SN - 0022-3115
VL - 374
SP - 461
EP - 472
JO - Journal of Nuclear Materials
JF - Journal of Nuclear Materials
IS - 3
ER -