Speaker
Ms
Botoum Hy
(IPN Orsay)
Description
The SPIRAL2 fission target must fulfill restrictive specifications to ensure an efficient production of neutron-rich isotope beams. The realization of such a target requires a thorough program to develop the appropriate uranium carbide (UCx) material. In particular, the material should provide a high fission yield and allow a fast release of the fissions products. These requirements can only be reached by finding an optimization between the material density and its porosity.
A R&D program has been set up at IPNO and Sciences Chimiques de Rennes to elaborate techniques of synthesis and characterization. First, three different processes for the UCx material synthesis have been selected for investigation: the carbothermal reduction of uranium oxide mixed with graphite [1-3], the carbothermal reduction of uranium oxalate [4-5] and the direct melting of a mixture of metallic uranium and graphite by electrical arc [6].
Each of the three processes requires careful techniques to manufacture and to check the product at the various stages.
To determine the process which best suits the specifications, we first have to understand how the different parameters of the synthesis process affect the material. For this purpose, we are carrying out systematic characterization measurements on the samples: determination of the material composition, measurement of density and porosity, evaluation of grain sizes and measurement of the pore size distribution.
The implementation of the different synthesis processes of the UCx material and the measuring devices for the material characterization will be described in details.
Abstract submitted for a poster presentation.
Author
Ms
Botoum Hy
(IPN Orsay)
Co-authors
Mr
Ahmet Özgümüs
(IPN Orsay)
Mrs
Brigitte Roussière
(IPN Orsay)
Mr
Christophe Lau
(IPN Orsay)
Mrs
Evelyne Cottereau
(IPN Orsay)
Mr
Henri Noël
(Sciences Chimiques de Rennes)
Mr
Maher Cheikh Mhamed
(IPN Orsay)
Mr
Mathieu Pasturel
(Sciences Chimiques de Rennes)
Mr
Michel Potel
(Sciences Chimiques de Rennes)
Mrs
Nicole Barré-Boscher
(IPN Orsay)
Mr
Olivier Tougait
(Sciences Chimiques de Rennes)
Mr
Saïd Essabaa
(IPN Orsay)
