Comparative study of Uranium diffusion in Zry-4 and pure α-Zr

ABSTRACT Throughout the α-spectrometry U diffusion in pure Zry-4 was studied and compared with pure α-Zr in the temperature range 843-1093 K in order to analyze the diffusion process in both matrices. D values are systematically higher in Zry-4 and its temperature dependence obeys the Arrhenius law being: D0 = (3,2 ± 1,1) m2/s and Q = (316 ± 9) kJ mol-1, whereas in α-Zr U diffusion present an apart to this law, consistent in a downward curvature in the ln(D) vs 1/T plot. Below 873 K U solubility in Zry4 is lower than in pure Zr.