Perspectives in using Raman spectroscopy for characterizing the microstructure of plutonium-bearing materials

Laeticia Medyk (1, 2) , Patrick Simon (3) , Aurélien Canizarès (3) , Dario Manara (4) , Rudy J.M. Konings (4) , Jean-Yves Colle (4) , Romain Vauchy (2) , Christophe Valot (2) , Gilles Montagnac (5) , Philippe M. Martin (2)

1 SFMA - Service d’étude des procédés de Fabrication des Matériaux d’Actinides
2 CEA-DES (ex-DEN) - CEA-Direction des Energies (ex-Direction de l'Energie Nucléaire)
3 CEMHTI - Conditions Extrêmes et Matériaux : Haute Température et Irradiation
4 JRC - European Commission - Joint Research Centre [Karlsruhe]
5 LGL-TPE - Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon - Terre, Planètes, Environnement

In the frame of the development of uranium-plutonium mixed oxide fuels for Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors (SFRs), characterizing nuclear materials by various techniques is paramount. These fast neutron reactors imply the use of a (U,Pu)O$_{2-x}$ ceramic fuel with a Pu/(U+Pu) content between 19 and 30 mol.%. Furthermore, the physico-chemical and microstructural properties of such fuels, such as chemical homogeneity, oxygen stoichiometry (O/(U+Pu) ratio) and crystallographic structure, have to meet precise criteria for being introduced in the reactor core.

Domains: Nuclear Experiment [nucl-ex]; Nuclear Theory [nucl-th]

Laeticia Medyk, Patrick Simon, Aurélien Canizarès, Dario Manara, Rudy J.M. Konings, et al.. Perspectives in using Raman spectroscopy for characterizing the microstructure of plutonium-bearing materials. Plutonium Futures 2018, Sep 2018, San Diego, United States. ⟨cea-02400209⟩