Solid-liquid equilibria in the ThO2 –ZrO2 system: An experimental study

Solid-liquid equilibria in the ThO2 –ZrO2 system: An experimental study

In this work, solid-liquid equilibria of the pseudo-binary system ThO2-ZrO2 are investigated. A series of different molar ratios (80:20, 60:40, 40:60, and 20:80 ThO2:ZrO2) of ThO2 and ZrO2 were synthesised at JRC-Karlsruhe using an external sol-gel method. The XRD data of samples sintered at 1650 °C...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of nuclear materials Vol. 521; pp. 99 - 108
Main Authors: Hashem, Emtethal, Seibert, Alice, Vigier, Jean-François, Naji, Mohamed, Mastromarino, Sara, Ciccioli, Andrea, Manara, Dario
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01-08-2019
Elsevier BV
Subjects:
Cladding
Composition
Equilibrium
Laser beam heating
Melting
Mixed oxides
Nuclear fuels
Organic chemistry
Raman spectroscopy
Sol-gel processes
Solidus
Solubility
Stability analysis
Thermal stability
Thorium nuclear fuel
Thorium oxide
Thorium oxides
Zirconium dioxide
Zirconium oxide
Melting
Thorium oxide
Zirconium oxide
Mixed oxides
Thorium nuclear fuel
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Summary:In this work, solid-liquid equilibria of the pseudo-binary system ThO2-ZrO2 are investigated. A series of different molar ratios (80:20, 60:40, 40:60, and 20:80 ThO2:ZrO2) of ThO2 and ZrO2 were synthesised at JRC-Karlsruhe using an external sol-gel method. The XRD data of samples sintered at 1650 °C show two-phase behaviour throughout the range of compositions with small solubility (<5%) of ZrO2 in ThO2 and limited solubility of ThO2 in ZrO2. These results were supported with Raman spectroscopy and SEM measurements to have a better understanding of the distribution of the components within each other. Solid/liquid equilibria in the ThO2-ZrO2 system are investigated here for the first time by laser heating coupled with fast optical thermometry under a controlled atmosphere. A minimum solidus point exists in this system for intermediate compositions (close to Th0.4Zr0.6O2) at approximately 2750 K. These results contribute to assessing the thermal stability of the fuel-cladding system in a ThO2-fuel based reactor. Moreover, when compared with other similar mixed oxide systems, the present data confirm the essential role played by oxygen chemistry in the definition of the studied phase boundaries.
ISSN:0022-3115
1873-4820
DOI:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.04.035