U Uranium

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This volume covers the binary and polynary carbides of uranium, including ternary carbides with nonmetals such as carbide oxides and carbide nitrides. The binary carbide UC and the mixed carbide (UO.80PUO.20)C are particularly significant for their potential use as fuel in advanced Fast Breeder Reactors, attributed to their short doubling time, high fissionable material density, and good thermal conductivity. In contrast, the dicarbide UC is relevant for High Temperature Reactors, especially in the mixed carbide form (U . Th . )C. Notably, India utilized mixed uranium-plutonium carbide (U . PU .)C as fuel for its 15 MW Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam, marking a significant development. Due to the technological importance of uranium carbides, much data has been published in reports, often aimed at promoting economical carbide fuel development. However, these studies frequently lack analytical data on sample purity and phase characterization, limiting the discussion of their findings in this handbook. Thus, only reliable publications are cited. For details on the technical fabrication of uranium carbides and their irradiation behavior, refer to Volumes A3 and A4 of this Handbook.