US2735761A - Ternary uranium alloy - Google Patents
Ternary uranium alloy Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US2735761A US2735761A US2735761DA US2735761A US 2735761 A US2735761 A US 2735761A US 2735761D A US2735761D A US 2735761DA US 2735761 A US2735761 A US 2735761A
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- alloy
- uranium
- iron
- ternary
- chromium
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
Links
- 229910000711 U alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 title description 8
- XEEYBQQBJWHFJM-UHFFFAOYSA-N iron Chemical compound [Fe] XEEYBQQBJWHFJM-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 60
- 229910052742 iron Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 30
- 229910052770 Uranium Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 14
- JFALSRSLKYAFGM-UHFFFAOYSA-N uranium(0) Chemical compound [U] JFALSRSLKYAFGM-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 14
- 229910052804 chromium Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 12
- VYZAMTAEIAYCRO-UHFFFAOYSA-N chromium Chemical compound [Cr] VYZAMTAEIAYCRO-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 12
- 239000011651 chromium Substances 0.000 claims description 12
- 239000000203 mixture Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 229910002058 ternary alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 4
- 229910045601 alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 description 32
- 239000000956 alloy Substances 0.000 description 32
- REDXJYDRNCIFBQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N aluminium(3+) Chemical class [Al+3] REDXJYDRNCIFBQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 26
- PXHVJJICTQNCMI-UHFFFAOYSA-N nickel Chemical compound [Ni] PXHVJJICTQNCMI-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 12
- -1 Uranium-chromium Chemical compound 0.000 description 8
- 230000005496 eutectics Effects 0.000 description 8
- 239000000446 fuel Substances 0.000 description 8
- 238000002844 melting Methods 0.000 description 8
- 238000005266 casting Methods 0.000 description 6
- PWHULOQIROXLJO-UHFFFAOYSA-N manganese Chemical compound [Mn] PWHULOQIROXLJO-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 6
- 229910052748 manganese Inorganic materials 0.000 description 6
- 239000011572 manganese Substances 0.000 description 6
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 6
- 229910052759 nickel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 6
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 description 4
- 229910000599 Cr alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000000654 additive Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000000788 chromium alloy Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000002826 coolant Substances 0.000 description 2
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000001771 impaired Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000000155 melt Substances 0.000 description 2
- 229910052751 metal Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 2
- KEAYESYHFKHZAL-UHFFFAOYSA-N sodium Chemical compound [Na] KEAYESYHFKHZAL-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 239000007787 solid Substances 0.000 description 2
- 230000001131 transforming Effects 0.000 description 2
Classifications
-
- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
- C22C—ALLOYS
- C22C43/00—Alloys containing radioactive materials
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10S376/00—Induced nuclear reactions: processes, systems, and elements
- Y10S376/90—Particular material or material shapes for fission reactors
- Y10S376/901—Fuel
Description
TERNARY URANIUM ALLGY Frank A. Rough and Henry A. Salier, Columbus, Ohio,
No Drawing. Application July 14, i954, Serial No. 443,450
2 Claims. (31. 75-134 This invention deals with a uranium alloy, and in particular with a uranium alloy containing chromium.
Uranium alloys are being used nowadays for many purposes. One of the most frequent applications of uranium is infuel elements for neutronic reactors such as are disclosed, for instance, in Fermi and Szilard U. S. Patent No. 2,707,656 based on application Serial No. 568,904 filed on December 19, 1944. In the case that the reactors are operated for the production of power, U or a U -enriched uranium is employed as the fuel material. One type of power reactor uses fast neutrons for bombarding the U -containing metal which has been cast into an assembly of a plurality of iron tubes so that it surrounds each tube completely. A liquid coolant, preferably sodium metal, flows through the iron tubes; a moderator is not employed in this type of reactor. The tubes normally have a length of at least 2 feet and their average outside diameter is about /s inch. It has been found very difficult to have a fuel material for these reactors which has all the characteristics required of such material and also has enough fluidity to fill all the empty spaces in such a cooling-tube assembly.
Uranium-chromium alloys, and in particular the eutectic which contains 5.0% by weight of chromium and which melts at 868 C., have been examined for the aboveoutlined purposes. However, these alloys require rather high casting temperatures at which they were found to attack the iron tubes.
It is an object of this invention to provide an alloy which has a melting point low enough so that the attack of the iron tubes during casting is prevented.
It is another object of this invention to provide an alloy which, when melted, has a low viscosity and a good castability'so that all spaces of any intricate mold, such as, for instance, the cooling-tube assembly described above, are completely filled out.
It is another object of this invention to provide an alloy which, when cast around iron, yields a good bond nitcd States Patent U" 2,735,761 Patented Feb. 21, 1956 2 therewith so that a unit of good heat conductivity is obtained.
It is finally also an object of this invention to provide an alloy which has a low neutron capture cross section.
These and other objects are accomplished by mixing iron with the uranium-chromium eutectic whereby an alloy of a reduced melting point is obtained. While contents of iron ranging between 0.5 and about 10% by weight are beneficial, a quantity so as to yield a content of about 1% in the final alloy is preferred; higher quantities did not bring about any improvement of the various characteristics, but impaired the ductility to a certain degree. The alloy containing approximately 94% by weight of uranium, 5% of chromium and 1% of iron has a melting point of 760 C., which is 108 C. lower than that of the uranium-chromium eutectic.
The alloys can be prepared by any method known to those skilled in the art. One preferred way of producing them comprises induction-melting the iron, uranium and chromium in a vacuum until a homogeneous alloy is obtained. The alloy may then be cast into the shapes desired of the fuel elements or other articles.
It was found that the alloy containing 1% by weight of iron showed excellent castability and had all the characteristics desirable for cast fuel elements of neutronic reactors.
In the investigations leading to the alloy of this invention additions of manganese and nickel were also examined as to their usability for the purpose of this invention, and it was found that they, too, lower the solidus point of a uranium-chromium eutectic but that they have only very little effect on the liquidus point. Since, however, the solidus point is the more important of the two transformation points between solid and liquid state for casting purposes, manganese and nickel did not prove as beneficial as additives as the iron. Moreover, the alloys containing the manganese and the nickel, respectively, were found to be less ductile than the iron-containing alloy.
It will be understood that this invention is not to be limited to the details given herein but that it may be modified within the scope of the appended claims.
What is claimed is:
1. As a new composition of matter, a ternary alloy containing about 5% by weight of chromium, from 0.5 to 10% of iron and the remainder uranium.
'2. The alloy of claim 1 wherein the iron content is about 1% by weight.
References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,213,207 De Golyer Sept. 3, 1940 2,220,083 De Golyer Nov. 5, 1940
Claims (1)
1. AS A NEW COMPOSITION OF MATTER, A TERNARY ALLOY CONTAINING ABOUT 5% BY WEIGHT OF CHROMIUM, FROM 0.5 TO 10% OF IRON AND THE REMAINDER URANIUM.
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| US2735761A true US2735761A (en) | 1956-02-21 |
Family
ID=3445148
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| US2735761D Expired - Lifetime US2735761A (en) | Ternary uranium alloy |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US2735761A (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3039000A (en) * | 1956-07-14 | 1962-06-12 | Schwarzkopf Dev Co | Radiation shield structures and their production |
Citations (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US2213207A (en) * | 1938-05-28 | 1940-09-03 | Golyer Anthony G De | Alloy |
| US2220083A (en) * | 1939-02-08 | 1940-11-05 | Golyer Anthony G De | Alloy |
-
0
- US US2735761D patent/US2735761A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Patent Citations (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US2213207A (en) * | 1938-05-28 | 1940-09-03 | Golyer Anthony G De | Alloy |
| US2220083A (en) * | 1939-02-08 | 1940-11-05 | Golyer Anthony G De | Alloy |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3039000A (en) * | 1956-07-14 | 1962-06-12 | Schwarzkopf Dev Co | Radiation shield structures and their production |
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