Microstructural Characterization of Burnable Absorber Materials Being Evaluated for Application in LEU U-Mo Fuel Plates

The starting microstructure of a fuel plate will impact how it performs during irradiation. As a result, microstructural characterization has been performed on as-fabricated monolithic fuel plates to determine the changes in fuel plate microstructure that may result from changes in fabrication parameters. Particular focus has been given to the fuel plate U-10Mo/Zr and Zr/AA6061 cladding interfaces, since the integrity of these interfaces will play a big role in determining the overall performance of the fuel plate during irradiation. In addition, burnable absorber materials for potential incorporation into monolithic fuel plates have been characterized to identify their as-fabricated microstructures. This information will be important when trying to understand the PIE data from fuel plates with burnable absorbers that are irradiated in future irradiation experiments. This paper will focus on the microstructures observed using optical metallography, X-ray diffraction, and scanning and transmission electron microscopy for monolithic fuel plates exposed to different fabrication parameters and for as-fabricated burnable absorber materials.