Article | REF: N1280 V1

Materials for the nuclear industry

Author: Clément LEMAIGNAN

Publication date: October 10, 2010, Review date: January 11, 2023

You do not have access to this resource.
Click here to request your free trial access!

Already subscribed? Log in!


Français

3. Materials used for their nuclear properties

3.1 Fuels

Uranium, in oxide form, is most commonly used as fuel, usually enriched in its fissile isotope 235 U. Other uranium- or plutonium-based compounds (carbides or nitrides) could be considered, but comparison of the various physical and employment properties generally favor the choice of oxide. UO 2 was chosen because of its very high melting temperature (2,845°C), which guarantees large margins in accident situations, and for its inert nature towards water. On the other hand, its thermal conductivity is low, below 2 W · m –1 · K –1 at 1,000°C.

As the ...

You do not have access to this resource.

Exclusive to subscribers. 97% yet to be discovered!

You do not have access to this resource.
Click here to request your free trial access!

Already subscribed? Log in!


The Ultimate Scientific and Technical Reference

A Comprehensive Knowledge Base, with over 1,200 authors and 100 scientific advisors
+ More than 10,000 articles and 1,000 how-to sheets, over 800 new or updated articles every year
From design to prototyping, right through to industrialization, the reference for securing the development of your industrial projects

This article is included in

Nuclear engineering

This offer includes:

Knowledge Base

Updated and enriched with articles validated by our scientific committees

Services

A set of exclusive tools to complement the resources

Practical Path

Operational and didactic, to guarantee the acquisition of transversal skills

Doc & Quiz

Interactive articles with quizzes, for constructive reading

Subscribe now!

Ongoing reading
Materials used for their nuclear properties