Application of a New Thermochemical Measurement Method for Nuclear Materials at Temperatures Beyond 3000k

Published

April 1, 2001

Author(s)

John W. Hastie, D W. Bonnell, Peter K. Schenck

Abstract

In processing and end-use environments, and particularly nuclear fission reactor excursions, inorganic materials can be subjected to temperatures where liquids and vapors are significant components of the materials system. Classical characterization and thermochemical methods fail at temperatures beyond about 3000 K, due to the reactivity of container materials. Use of a pulsed laser beam as a localized heat source avoids this limitation. Coupling laser heating with molecular beam sampling and mass-and optical-spectroscopy aloows us to characterize the thermochemistry of liquid-vapor systems at temperatures of 3000-5000 K, pressures of 0.01 to 20 bar (1 bar=105 Nm-2), and on a nanosecond order-or-magnitude time scale.

Citation

Journal of Nuclear Materials

Volume

No. 294

Issue

No. 1-2

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

HF02, high temperature, nuclear materials, thermodynamics, vapor pressure, Y203, Zr02

Citation

Hastie, J. , Bonnell, D. and Schenck, P. (2001), Application of a New Thermochemical Measurement Method for Nuclear Materials at Temperatures Beyond 3000k, Journal of Nuclear Materials (Accessed April 26, 2024)