• Jinschek, Joerg R.
• He, Lingfeng
• Bawane, Kaustubh
• Lemma, Fidelma Di
• Vijayan, Sriram

Abstract

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">During nuclear fission, the <i>in reactor</i> thermal conditions results in large thermal gradients across the fuel pellet and cladding material. These extreme thermal gradients result in non-equilibrium phenomena such as redistribution of constituent elements and fission products along the thermal gradient. Currently, this information can only be observed through <i>post-mortem </i>characterization of fuel rod cross sections. In order to study the dynamic processes that govern the microstructural evolution under <i>in reactor</i> thermal conditions at high spatial resolution and correlate them to fuel properties and performance, the development of new <i>in-situ</i> heating stages is needed. Here, we discuss the development of a modified micro electro mechanical (MEMS) based TEM heating stage that allow us to study the effect of <i>in reactor</i> thermal gradients on the microstructural evolution in a lamella prepare from a U-Zr metallic fuel alloy. Additionally, the challenges and opportunities associated with this novel approach will be discussed.</p>

Topics

• impedance spectroscopy
• transmission electron microscopy
• lamellae