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Received June 30, 2010
Accepted August 26, 2010
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Chemical reactivity of oxide materials with uranium and uranium trichloride
Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, P. O. Box 105, Yuseong, Daejeon 305-353, Korea
shlee6@kaeri.re.kr
Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, November 2010, 27(6), 1786-1790(5), 10.1007/s11814-010-0410-5
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Abstract
A graphite crucible is used for the manufacturing of uranium ingots in the uranium casting equipment of the electrorefining process. Uranium and uranium alloys are typically induction melted in graphite crucibles under a vacuum condition; however, due to the chemical reactivity of uranium and most alloying elements with carbon, a protective ceramic coating is generally applied to the graphite crucibles. To investigate the most suitable ceramic coating material for application to graphite melting crucibles used for the melting uranium in uranium casting equipment, firstly, a thermodynamic analysis using HSC software was performed to examine the chemical reactivity of ceramic oxide materials with uranium and uranium trichloride, and also, experiments concerning the reactivity of molten uranium in some ceramic coated crucibles were performed at 1,300 ℃. From the results, yttria was finally selected as the most suitable ceramic coating material for application to graphite crucibles for melting the uranium.
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Yoneoka T, Terai T, Takahashi Y, J. Nucl. Mat., 248, 343 (1997)
