Research Project: Radioactive Powder Characterization Equipment for Enhanced Research and Teaching Capability
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- McDeavitt, Sean
- Perez-Nunez, Delia
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Abstract or Project Summary
The objective of this proposal is to enhance the capabilities of the Texas A&M University (TAMU), Department of Nuclear Engineering, Fuel Cycle and Materials Laboratory (FCML). The FCML is a unique university facility established to study issues in the nuclear fuel cycle, including materials and chemical processing. It currently operates under the direction of Dr. Sean M. McDeavitt (Co-PI) with Drs. Delia Perez-Nunez and Luis H. Ortega (Co-PI, and PI) as laboratory manager and research engineer, respectively. Work carried out at the FCML has focused on the processing and characterizing of materials related to fuel development, waste management, and several other projects relevant to the DOE-NE mission.
Current FCML equipment includes a JEOL 6400 SEM, two large and one small inert atmosphere gloveboxes, multiple uniaxial presses for pelletization (including two 12-ton hydraulic presses, a 40-ton programmable press, and a 90-ton hydraulic press) and a hot isostatic press. Multiple high temperature furnaces with Tmax ranging from 1000C to 2000C which may be configured for casting, diffusion couple studies, instrumented sintering, cold or hot pressing, and extrusion. Thermal property characterization capabilities include a Netzsch LFA 447 to measure thermal diffusivity, and a Netzsch STA 409 for simultaneous differential calorimetry and gravimetric analysis. The FCML has been approved for the handling, testing and characterization of radioactive materials (including small quantities of enriched uranium). A quality assurance plan is in place that is applicable for simple fuel fabrication operations, potential irradiation studies, or other work which requires more stringent validation protocols.
This infrastructure upgrade request is designed to establish missing capabilities within the controlled area boundaries of the FCML. A challenge related to work with enriched powder and certain hazardous chemicals is that standard materials characterization tools are not as readily available without shipping to a national laboratory (if time and funding are available). Operations such as X-ray diffraction are currently available to FCML at user facilities on campus, but certain radioactive and hazardous powders (e.g., uranium and beryllium oxide powders) are not examinable anywhere on campus. Powders are very common precursors to the work carried out at the FCML. A thorough characterization of these powders is essential to obtaining a complete understanding of processing parameters during material development studies, as well as product verification and qualification.
Therefore, an infrastructure improvement upgrade is proposed to assist in overcoming these challenges. The proposed equipment (Table 1) includes a Bruker D2 Phaser X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD) and a Micromeritics Sedigraph III Particle Size Analyzer (PSA) which are not currently available on campus for radioactive powders.
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