During storage helium atoms accumulate in spent fuel via alpha-decay. These helium atoms cluster into microscopic bubbles that change the physical properties of spent fuel. To estimate the impact of such bubble, it is essential to possess a good thermodynamical model for helium interacting with the surrounding matrix including states at high pressures and temperatures.
Therefore, molecular...
High values of fission gas release from UO$_2$ fuel during post-irradiation annealing tests cannot be explained by the effective diffusion theory, which is generally used in the modelling of base-irradiation of nuclear fuel. Since the fission gas atoms are highly insoluble in the bulk UO$_2$, they mostly precipitate as intra-granular bubbles. Movement of these highly pressurized intra-granular...
In this work, we present a newly designed experimental set-up to infuse helium in UO2 samples. The objective of the presented activity is to carry out experiments aimed at investigating helium behaviour in nuclear fuel, measuring its key properties such as diffusivity and solubility. The proposed experimental set-up consists of a laser-heated autoclave (continuous-wave 4.5 kW Nd:YAG laser at...
In collaboration with CEMHTI/CNRS Orléans, DEC/LLCC/CEA Cadarache, JRC-Karlsruhe and in the frame of INSPYRE WP 2.2, we study the behavior of noble gases (Kr, Xe) in UO2 using Thermo-Desorption Spectrometry (TDS). The presented work is a continuation of a separate effect studies where numerous parameters have already been evaluated: the nature of the implanted ions, their energies, their...
