Swelling Mechanism of Lattice with the Ingrowth of the Defects in UO2

Abstract

Swelling of uranium dioxide with ingrowth of defects by irradiation is not fully understood. Experimental and theoretical groups have attempted to explain this phenomenon with various complex theories. In this study, experimental lattice expansion and super saturation of the lattice were well reproduced by molecular dynamics simulation method. From the resemblance with the experimental data, here it is manifested that only oxygen frenkel pairs were created in the fission induced lattice while alpha particle radiation causes both oxygen and considerable amount of uranium defects. Moreover, in this work, defects are divided into two sub-groups as obstruction and distortion and it is shown that obstruction type frenkel pairs merely responsible for the lattice swelling for both fission and alpha particle radiation. Evidently relative lattice expansion varies linearly with the obstruction type of survived uranium defects. Additionally, at high concentrations, some of the obstruction type uranium frenkel pairs forming double or triple structures with oxygens in their octahedral cages which increase the slope of the linear dependence.