Effect of Mo content on thermal and mechanical properties of Mo–Ru–Rh–Pd alloys

Abstract Metallic inclusions are precipitated in irradiated oxide fuels. The composition of the phases varies with the burnup and the conditions such as temperature gradients and oxygen potential of the fuel. In the present work, Mo x 0.7 + x ( Ru 0.5 Rh 0.1 Pd 0.1 ) 0.7 0.7 + x ( x  = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, and 0.25) alloys were prepared by arc melting, followed by annealing in a high vacuum. The thermal and mechanical properties of the alloys such as elastic moduli, Debye temperature, micro-Vickers hardness, electrical resistivity, and thermal conductivity have been evaluated to elucidate the effect of Mo content on these physical properties of the alloys. The alloys with lower Mo contents show higher thermal conductivity. The thermal conductivity of the alloy with x  = 0 is almost twice of that of the alloy with x  = 0.25. The thermal conductivities of the alloys are dominated by electronic contribution, which has been evaluated using the Wiedemann–Franz–Lorenz relation from the electrical resistivity data. It is confirmed that the variation of the Mo contents of the alloys considerably affects the mechanical and thermal properties of the alloys.