Epsilon phase material, which is produced during irradiation of oxide fuels, has many implications for the nuclear fuel cycle including fuel performance and post-irradiation processing. Although the presence of the material has been known since the 1960’s, much is still unknown about the formation and transport of epsilon metal inclusions in oxides fuels. The material is considered a five metal phase composed of molybdenum, technetium, ruthenium, rhodium, and palladium in a hexagonal close packed arrangement and forms inclusions within the oxide fuel. To gain further insight into these mechanisms, epsilon phase material is currently being studied <i>in situ</i> and separated from irradiated fuel. Insoluble in both the hot nitric acid and carbonate peroxide fuel dissolution process, the noble metal phase can easily be separated from the bulk fuel. Material separated from three uranium oxide fuels—ATM-105, ATM-106, and ATM-109, each representing distinct burnups—using the carbonate peroxide fuel dissolution process were subsequently dissolved using a potassium nitrate/potassium hydroxide fusion and fully characterized. We present the radiologic, elemental, and isotopic characterization of the separated epsilon phase material.

Radiochemical, elemental, and isotopic analysis of epsilon phase material from irradiated fuel

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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