Sensitivity of Cesium Chemistry to the 0lU Ratio in UO2x

Abstract

The effect of O/U ratio on chemical reactivity was investigated in a cesium-iodide/urania/tungsten system at temperatures up to 2200 K. It was found that slight changes in the oxidation of the urania had a large effect on reactivity. Crushed fresh fuel samples showed little reaction with CsI; however, slightly hyperstoichiometric fuel showed considerable reaction. The tungsten participated in the reaction by removing excess oxygen from the urania, eventually leading to a cesium tungstate species that was analyzed by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques.