Grain Boundary Corrosion and Alteration Phase Formation During the Oxidative Dissolution of UO2 Pellets

1996 ◽  
Vol 465 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Wronkiewicz ◽  
Edgar C. Buck ◽  
John K. Bates

ABSTRACTThe alteration behavior of UO2 pellets following their reaction under unsaturated drip-test conditions, at 90°C, for time periods of up to 10 years has been examined by solid phase and leachate analyses. Sample reactions were characterized by preferential dissolution of grain boundaries between the original press-sintered UO2 granules comprising the samples, development of a polygonal network of open channels along the intergrain boundaries, and spallation of surface granules that had undergone severe grain boundary corrosion. The development of a dense mat of alteration phases after two years of reaction trapped loose granules, resulting in reduced rates of particulate uranium release. The paragenetic sequence of alteration phases that formed on the present samples was similar to that observed in surficial weathering zones of natural uraninite (UO2) deposits, with alkali and alkaline earth uranyl silicates representing the long-term solubility-limiting phases for uranium in both systems.

2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (06n07) ◽  
pp. 1066-1073
Author(s):  
FANG LIU ◽  
SHULIN YANG ◽  
WENRU SUN ◽  
SHOUREN GUO ◽  
ZHUANGQI HU

Compared with the conventional In 718 alloy, the addition of Al at the level of 1.24% and 1.50% greatly increases the precipitation of γ′ phase and the compact form of γ″/γ′/γ″ structure, which has been demonstrated in previous studies. The δ phase precipitation at the grain boundaries is noticeably suppressed. Large amount of Laves phase (( Fe , Ni , Cr )2( Nb , Mo )), small amount of M 7 C 3 carbide and σ phase (( Fe , Ni )( Cr , Mo , Nb )) are precipitated at the grain boundaries. After aging at 680°C, the grain boundary precipitates are increased significantly. Large amount needle-like σ phase is precipitated at the grain boundary in the alloy with 1.50% Al . After aging at 680°C for 1000h, the grain boundary precipitates are worsened further, but the coarsening of the compact form γ″/γ′/γ″ is lighter than the γ″ phase in the normal In 718 alloy. The tensile strength at room temperature and 680°C are increased due to Al increasing. While the tensile ductility and impact toughness of the alloy decrease significantly, and a sharp decrease has been found during the long term aging at 680°C. The mechanism by which Al influencing the microstructure and mechanical properties of In 718 alloy is to be discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (36) ◽  
pp. 20832-20839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Woochul Kim ◽  
Jong Bae Park ◽  
Hyeonghun Kim ◽  
Kihyeun Kim ◽  
Jiyoon Park ◽  
...  

Highly stable perovskite solar cells are achieved by passivating the grain boundaries with PDMS to inhibit the water–perovskite reaction and reduce the trap density, ensuring complete photovoltaic operation even after 5000 h under RH 70%.


2015 ◽  
Vol 816 ◽  
pp. 641-647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Shan Hou ◽  
Jian Ting Guo ◽  
Chao Yuan ◽  
Yong An Guo ◽  
Gu Song Li ◽  
...  

The effects of the selective addition of Hafnium (Hf) on the grain boundary, phase, carbides and creep properties of experimented nickel superalloy after standard heat treatment and long-term exposure were investigated. Predicted by the Bayesian neural network, the creep life is prolonged with Hf content of 0-0.6 mass%, which is more effective at low stresses. The decrease of creep life of Hf free alloy after long term exposure was pronounced. Comparative study showed that the mainly small, coherent, blocky and closely spaced MC(2)and M23C6carbides precipitated on the grain boundaries in the 0.4wt% Hf contained alloy, and that relatively larger, incoherent MC(1)carbides precipitated on the grain boundaries in the Hf free alloy. During long term thermal exposure, fine discrete M23C6carbides decomposed from primary carbide, inducing a layer along the grain boundary, and the coarsening of grain boundary in Hf free alloy is more pronounced. At high stresses, the Hf-free alloy exhibited a stronger tendency of rafting than the 0.4Hf alloy, while the tendency of appearance of rafting was very similar at low stresses. However, Hf can render the alloy prone to the formation of σ phase, according to D-electrons method. Thus, the Hf content needs to be controlled to a suitable level.


1999 ◽  
Vol 556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Finch ◽  
Edgar C. Buck ◽  
Patricia A. Finn ◽  
John K. Bates

AbstractOxidative dissolution of spent UO2 fuel in vapor and dripping groundwater at 90°C occurs via general corrosion at fragment surfaces. Dissolution along fuel-grain boundaries is also evident in samples contacted by the largest volumes of groundwater, and corroded grain boundaries extend at least 20 or 30 grains deep (> 200 μm), possibly throughout mm-sized fragments. Apparent dissolution of fuel along defects that intersect grain boundaries has produced 50 to 200 nm-diameter dissolution pits that penetrate 1–2 μm into each grain, giving rise to a “worm-like” texture along fuel-grain boundaries. Sub-micrometer-sized fuel shards are common between fuel grains and may contribute to the reactive surface area of fuel exposed to groundwater. Outer surfaces of reacted fuel fragments develop a fmne-grained layer of corrosion products adjacent to the fuel (5–15 μm thick). A more coarsely crystalline layer of corrosion products commonly covers the fine-grained layer, the thickness of which varies considerably among samples (from less than 5 μm to greater than 40 μm). The thickest and most porous corrosion layers develop on fuel fragments exposed to the largest volumes of groundwater. Corrosion-layer compositions depend strongly on water flux, with uranyl oxy-hydroxides predominating in vapor experiments, and alkali and alkaline earth uranyl silicates predominating in high drip-rate experiments. Low drip-rate experiments exhibit a complex assemblage of corrosion products, including phases identified in vapor and high drip-rate experiments.


Author(s):  
Takahiro Nakanishi ◽  
Ken Suzuki ◽  
Hideo Miura

Electroplated copper thin films have started to be employed as the interconnection material in TSV structures of 3D semiconductor modules because of its low electric resistivity and high thermal conductivity. However, electrical and mechanical properties of electroplated copper thin-films have been found to vary drastically depending on their microtexture. In particular, the crystallographic quality (crystallinity) of grain boundaries in the electroplated copper thin-films plays an important role on the variations of these properties and the long-term reliability of the interconnections. This is because grain boundaries are the area where the atomic alignment of mateerials is disordered and thus, various defects such as vacancies, dislocations, impurities, and strain easily concentrate around them. This disorder of the atomic alignment causes the increase in the electrical resistivity, diffusion constant along the grain boundaries, and the brittleness of the material. Therefore, it is very important to evaluate the characteristics of a grain boundary quantitatively in order to control and assure the properties of the electroplated copper thin films. In this study, a novel tensile test method that can measure the strength of a grain boundary has been developed by using a focused ion beam system. In order to investigate the effect of the crystallinity of grain boundaries on their strength, an electron back-scatter diffraction method (EBSD) was employed for the quantitative characterization of grain boundaries. It was confirmed that the strength of grain boundaries with low crystallinity was much lower than that with high crystallinity.


2007 ◽  
Vol 989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Won-Kyu Lee ◽  
Sang-Myeon Han ◽  
Sang-Geun Park ◽  
Young-Jin Chang ◽  
Kee-Chan Park ◽  
...  

AbstractWe have fabricated a new magnetic field enhanced solid phase crystallization (FESPC) polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin film transistors (TFTs), which shows the excellent electrical characteristics and superior stability compared with hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) TFTs. The mobility (μ) and threshold voltage (VTH) of p-type TFTs of which the channel width and length are 5 μm and 7 μm, respectively are 31.98 cm2/Vs and -6.14 V, at VDS=-0.1 V. In the FESPC TFTs, the characteristics caused by grain boundary are remarkable due to large number of grain boundaries in the channel compared with poly-Si TFTs. The VTH of the TFT which have 5 μm channel length is smaller than that of 18 μm channel length by 1.36 V, which is considerably large value. It is due to the large number of grain boundaries in the channel and the high lateral electric field. The grain boundary potential barrier height is decreased, when the large lateral electric field is applied (which is called DIGBL effect). As a result of increased mobility, the drain current is increased, and VTH can be decreased. The activation energy (Ea) is strongly depended on the drain bias and the number of grain boundaries. is decreased, caused by the large drain bias and/or smaller number of grain boundaries. This decreased Ea can be reduced VTH due to increased the drain current. VTH of p-type poly-Si TFT employing FESPC on the glass substrate is affected by channel length and VDS due to energy barrier lowering effect at the grain boundary by increased lateral electrical field.


Author(s):  
J. W. Matthews ◽  
W. M. Stobbs

Many high-angle grain boundaries in cubic crystals are thought to be either coincidence boundaries (1) or coincidence boundaries to which grain boundary dislocations have been added (1,2). Calculations of the arrangement of atoms inside coincidence boundaries suggest that the coincidence lattice will usually not be continuous across a coincidence boundary (3). There will usually be a rigid displacement of the lattice on one side of the boundary relative to that on the other. This displacement gives rise to a stacking fault in the coincidence lattice.Recently, Pond (4) and Smith (5) have measured the lattice displacement at coincidence boundaries in aluminum. We have developed (6) an alternative to the measuring technique used by them, and have used it to find two of the three components of the displacement at {112} lateral twin boundaries in gold. This paper describes our method and presents a brief account of the results we have obtained.


Author(s):  
C. W. Price

Little evidence exists on the interaction of individual dislocations with recrystallized grain boundaries, primarily because of the severely overlapping contrast of the high dislocation density usually present during recrystallization. Interesting evidence of such interaction, Fig. 1, was discovered during examination of some old work on the hot deformation of Al-4.64 Cu. The specimen was deformed in a programmable thermomechanical instrument at 527 C and a strain rate of 25 cm/cm/s to a strain of 0.7. Static recrystallization occurred during a post anneal of 23 s also at 527 C. The figure shows evidence of dissociation of a subboundary at an intersection with a recrystallized high-angle grain boundary. At least one set of dislocations appears to be out of contrast in Fig. 1, and a grainboundary precipitate also is visible. Unfortunately, only subgrain sizes were of interest at the time the micrograph was recorded, and no attempt was made to analyze the dislocation structure.


Author(s):  
D. B. Williams ◽  
A. D. Romig

The segregation of solute or imparity elements to grain boundaries can occur by three well-defined processes. The first is Gibbsian segregation in which an element of minimal matrix solubility confines itself to a monolayer at the grain boundary. Classical examples include Bi in Cu and S or P in Fe. The second process involves the depletion of excess matrix solute by volume diffusion to the boundary. In the boundary, the solute atoms diffuse rapidly to precipitates, causing them to grow by the ‘collector-plate mechanism.’ Such grain boundary diffusion is thought to initiate “Diffusion-Induced Grain Boundary Migration,” (DIGM). This process has been proposed as the origin of eutectoid transformations or discontinuous grain boundary reactions. The third segregation process is non-equilibrium segregation which result in a solute build-up around the boundary because of solute-vacancy interactions.All of these segregation phenomena usually occur on a sub-micron scale and are often affected by the nature of the grain boundary (misorientation, defect structure, boundary plane).


Author(s):  
C.L. Briant

Grain boundary segregation is the process by which solute elements in a material diffuse to the grain boundaries, become trapped there, and increase their local concentration at the boundary over that in the bulk. As a result of this process this local concentration of the segregant at the grain boundary can be many orders of magnitude greater than the bulk concentration of the segregant. The importance of this problem lies in the fact that grain boundary segregation can affect many material properties such as fracture, corrosion, and grain growth.One of the best ways to study grain boundary segregation is with Auger electron spectroscopy. This spectroscopy is an extremely surface sensitive technique. When it is used to study grain boundary segregation the sample must first be fractured intergranularly in the high vacuum spectrometer. This fracture surface is then the one that is analyzed. The development of scanning Auger spectrometers have allowed researchers to first image the fracture surface that is created and then to perform analyses on individual grain boundaries.


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