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Sendelbach, S.

Publications and source records attributed to Sendelbach, S..

5 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Corium lavas: structure and properties of molten UO 2 -ZrO 2 under meltdown conditions

In the exceedingly rare event of nuclear reactor core meltdown, uranium dioxide fuel reacts with Zircaloy cladding to produce eutectic melts which can subsequently be oxidized by coolant/moderator water. Oxidized corium liquids in the xUO 2 ·(100 – x)ZrO 2 system were produced via laser melting of UO 2 -ZrO 2 mixtures to temperatures in excess of 3000 K. Contamination was avoided by floating the droplets on a gas stream within an aerodynamic levitator and in-situ high-energy x-ray diffraction experiments allowed structural details to be elucidated. Molecular dynamics simulations well reproduced diffraction and density data, and show less compositional variation in thermal expansion and viscosity than suggested by existing measurements. As such, corium liquids maintain their highly penetrating nature irrespective of the amount of oxidized cladding dissolved in the molten fuel. Metal-oxygen coordination numbers vary with both composition and temperature. The former is due to mismatch in native values, n UO (x = 100) ≈ 7 and n ZrO (x = 0) ≈ 6, and the requirement for oxygen site stabilization. Furthermore, the latter provides a thermal expansion mechanism.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2017

The structure of liquid UO 2-x in reducing gas atmospheres

High energy X-ray diffraction experiments performed on hypostoichiometric UO 2-x liquids in reducing gas mixtures of 95%Ar:5%CO and 95%Ar:5%H 2 are compared to that conducted in a pure Ar atmosphere [Skinner et al., Science 346, 984 (2014)]. The measurements are pertinent to severe accident scenarios at nuclear reactors, where core melts can encounter reducing conditions and further shed light on the oxide chemistry of the low valence states of uranium, particularly U(III), which become stable only at very high temperatures and low oxygen potentials. The radioactive samples were melted by floating small spheres of material using an aerodynamic levitator and heating with a laser beam. In the more reducing environments, a 1.7% shift to lower Q-values is observed in the position of the principal peak of the measured X-ray structure factors, compared to the more oxidizing Ar environment. This corresponds to an equivalent elongation in the U-U nearest neighbor distances and the U-U periodicity. The U-O peak (modal) bond-length, as measured from the real-space total correlation functions, is also observed to expand by 0.9–1.6% under reducing conditions, consistent with the presence of 15–27% U 3+ cations, assuming constant U-O coordination number. The slightly larger U-U elongation, as compared to the U-O elongation, is interpreted as a slight increase in U-O-U bond angles. Difficulties concerning the determination of the hypostoichiometry, x, are discussed, along with the future directions for related research.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Iron K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy of aerodynamically levitated silicate melts and glasses

Here, the local structure about Fe(II) and Fe(III) in silicate melts was investigated in-situ using iron K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. An aerodynamic levitation and laser heating system was used to allow access to high temperatures without contamination, and was combined with a chamber and gas mixing system to allow the iron oxidation state, Fe 3+ /ΣFe, to be varied by systematic control of the atmospheric oxygen fugacity. Eleven alkali-free, mostly iron-rich and depolymerized base compositions were chosen for the experiments, including pure oxide FeO, olivines (Fe,Mg) 2 SiO 4 , pyroxenes (Fe,Mg)SiO 3 , calcic FeO-CaSiO 3 , and a calcium aluminosilicate composition, where total iron content is denoted by FeO for convenience. Melt temperatures varied between 1410 and 2160 K and oxygen fugacities between FMQ – 2.3(3) to FMQ + 9.1(3) log units (uncertainties in parentheses) relative to the fayalite-magnetite-β-quartz (FMQ) buffer.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Local structural variation with oxygen fugacity in Fe 2 SiO 4+x fayalitic iron silicate melts

Here, the structure of molten Fe 2 SiO 4+x has been studied using both high-energy X-ray diffraction and Fe K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy, combined with aerodynamic levitation and laser beam heating. A wide range of Fe 3+ contents were accessed by varying the levitation and atmospheric gas composition. Diffraction measurements were made in the temperature ( T ) and oxygen partial pressure ranges 1624(21) < T < 2183(94) K (uncertainties in parentheses) and –5.6(3) < ΔFMQ < +2.8(5) log units (relative to the Fayalite-Magnetite-Quartz buffer). Iron K-edge XANES measurements covered the ranges 1557(33) < T < 1994(36) K and –2.1(3) < ΔFMQ < +4.4(3) log units. Fe 3+ contents, x = Fe 3+ /ΣFe, estimated directly from the pre-edge peaks of the XANES spectra varied between 0.15(1) and 0.40(2). While these agree in some cases with semi-empirical models, notable discrepancies are discussed in the context of the redox kinetics and the limitations in both the models and in the calibrations used to derive oxidation state from XANES spectra. XANES pre-edge peak areas imply average Fe–O coordination numbers, n FeO , close to 5 for all Fe 3+ /ΣFe. Diffraction measurements yielded values of 4.4(2) < n FeO < 4.7(1). There is limited evidence for a linear trend n FeO (x) = 4.46(3) + 0.4(1)x. Asymmetric Fe–O bond length distributions peak at around 1.96 Å and have a shoulder arising from longer interatomic distances. Mean r FeO lie close to 2.06 Å, consistent with n FeO close to 5. These observations suggest that Fe 2+ is less efficient at stabilizing tetrahedral Fe 3+ compared to large monovalent alkali cations. Comparison of in-situ XANES estimates of Fe 3+ /ΣFe in the melts to those of the quenched solids obtained from XANES as well as Mössbauer spectroscopy indicate rapid oxidation during cooling, enabled by stirring of the melt by the levitation gas flow. As such, the oxidation state of hot komatiitic and other highly fluid melts may not be retained, even during rapid cooling, as it is for cooler basaltic and more silicic magmas.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗