Melting of Fe and Gd oxide loaded geopolymers with nuclear fuel for ex-vessel core catcher systems

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F61388980%3A_____%2F25%3A00637295" target="_blank" >RIV/61388980:_____/25:00637295 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/26722445:_____/25:N0000069 RIV/00216208:11310/25:10499743

Result on the web

<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306454925004190" target="_blank" >https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306454925004190</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111602" target="_blank" >10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111602</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Melting of Fe and Gd oxide loaded geopolymers with nuclear fuel for ex-vessel core catcher systems

Original language description

Geopolymers have demonstrated a significant potential in various fields of the nuclear industry. They can serve as enhanced sacrificial materials offering increased safety and mitigating consequences in a hypothetical severe nuclear accident. Additionally, geopolymers show potential use as immobilization matrixes for radioactive waste disposal due to their advantageous properties and polymeric structures. Their properties, including high gamma radiation resistance, low water content, and the ability to incorporate various elements and species to customize their physico-chemical properties, suggest that geopolymers may be applied for various systems, e.g. sacrificial materials for core catchers of current or future plant concepts. However, further research is required to fully understand the interaction between geopolymers and corium melts, to describe their physico-chemical properties at extreme temperatures, high-temperature phase behaviour, etc. In present manuscript, we focused on geopolymers with embedded Gd<inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> and Fe<inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> as neutron absorber and functional melt modifier, respectively. Such composite could be a convenient sacrificial material for ex-vessel core catcher systems. We conducted two midscale melting experiments of geopolymer mixtures with prototypic corium to estimate the solidus and liquidus of the mixture and asses the phase behaviour. The mixture of geopolymer and prototypic corium showed similarities to previously described corium-concrete systems with solidus temperature around 1500 °C and liquidus around 1900 °C. A miscibility gap was present in the system between the oxide and iron melt. Iron melt solidified into a large block, but to microdroplets as well. Three distinct phases (silicate-rich, uranium-rich and metallic) were observed in the ingots. The geopolymer materials appeared to have prospective properties from melting and phase point of view, thus deserve further attention in the severe accident R&D.

Czech name

—

Czech description

—

Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10402 - Inorganic and nuclear chemistry

Project

<a href="/en/project/TK01030130" target="_blank" >TK01030130: New inorganic material for the nuclear industry</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Annals of Nuclear Energy

ISSN

0306-4549

e-ISSN

1873-2100

Volume of the periodical

223

Issue of the periodical within the volume

DEC

Country of publishing house

GB - UNITED KINGDOM

Number of pages

11

Pages from-to

111602

UT code for WoS article

001525611200003

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-105008826404