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In-Pile Measurement of the Thermal Conductivity of Irradiated Metallic Fuel

Conference Paper  in  Nuclear Technology · January 1992

DOI: 10.13182/NT95-1

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frenctsr Ëngineering ANURE 91/1
Þivision
Ëleactcr Fngineering
Division
Ëleactor Ëngineering
tivision
Reactor Ëngineering
Ðivision
Reactor Engineering Thermal ConductivitY of
Division Porous Media: General
Reactor Engineering
Division Theory and Reactor ApPlications
Reactor Engineering
Division
tleactor Engineering
Ðivision by T. H. Bauer
Heactor Engineering
Þivision
Reactor ãngineering
Ðivision
Reactor Engineering
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Reactor ñngineering
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Reactor Engineering
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Fleactor Ëngineering
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Argonne National LaboratorV, .{gonne, lllinois 60439
oferated by The University of Chicago
fãi rhe úñiteo Statôs oepärtment oí Energy under Contract W-31-109-Eng-38
Nolice
This informal document conta¡ns preliminary
information prepared pr¡mar¡ly f0r interim use
in fast breeder'reactor programs in the U.S.
Since it does not constitute a f¡nal report, it
should be cited as a reference only in special
c¡rcumstances, such as requirements for
regulatory needs.

Atplied Technolo0y
R-nÍ funner distribution by any holder of this
document or data there¡n to third parties repre-
sent¡ng foreign interests, foreign governments,
forei0n companies, and foreignsubsidiariesor
foreién divisions of U.S. companies shall be
approved by the Associate Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Reactor Systems, Development,
and Technolooy, U.S. Department of Energy.
Further, foreign party release may require DoE
approval pursuantto Federal Regulation 1 0 CFR
Part 81 0, and/or may be subiect to Section 1 27
of the Atomic Ener0y Act.
 AÌ{L//RE 9l-l1

THERMAL CONDUCTTVITI OF POROUS MEDIA:

GENERAL ÎHEORY AND REACTOR APPLICATIONS

by

T. H. Bauer

January 1991

APPLIED TECHNOLOGY

Any further distributlon of any holder of this document or data thereln to

third parties representing foreign interests, forelgn govern¡nents, foreign
companies, and forelgn subsidiarÍes or foreign divisions of U.S. companies
shall be approved by the Associate Deputy Asslstant Secretary for Reactor
Systens, Development, and Technology, U.S. Department of Energy. Further,
foreign party re,lease nay requfre DOE approval pursuant to Federal
Regulatlon 10 CFR Part 810, and/or may be subJect to Section L27 of the
AtonÍc Energy Act.

NOTICE: this lnformal docunent contains preLiminary information

prepared prlrnarily for lnterim use 1n fast breeder reactor
programs ín the U.S. Sinee it does not constitute a finaL report,
ft should be clted as a reference only ln special circumstances,
such as requirements for regulatory needs.

Reactor Engineering Division

ARGONNE NATIONAL IABORATORY
9700 South Cass Avenue
Argonne, Illinois 60439
 TABT.E OF CONTENTS

Pase

1.0 INTRODUCTION 1

2.0 THEORY. 2

2.L Bounding l{odel; Constraints and Llnlts 2

2.2 General Theory 3
2.3 Dlstributlons of Pore lypes and Sl-zes 7
2.4 Temperature FleLd Perturbatlons by SlngLe Pores I
2.4 .1 Spherlcal Pores . .' 9
2.4 .2 Generalizatlon to Pores of Arbltrary Shape I
2.5 Dependence of Condr¡ctivlty on Porosity 10

3.0 APPLICATIONS 11

3.1 Low- Conductlvlty Pores 11

3.2 Hlgh- Conductlvlty Pores 16
3.3 Multiple Pore-Types 16

4.0 CONCLUSIONS 18

5.0 REFERENCES 19

]-11

4L
 Y

LIST OF FIGT'RES

Pase

1 Slde Vlew of a Cyl.lndrlcal Control VoLr.me Spanning the

Boundary Betr¡een the Porous and Contlnuous Media. 6

2 Ttrernal Conductivlty vs. Porosity for Low-Conductivlty

Uranlt¡m Compounds Plus Volds Dispersed in Solld Ah:mlnum. 13

3 lhernal Conductlvity vs. Low-Conductivlty Porosity in

Uranfi¡m-Flsslt¡m Alloy Fuel. L4

4. Electrlcal Conductivity vs. DensLty of Various Foams. 15

5. Effective Thernal Gonductivlty of Solld-Gas Mlxtu5es L7

lv
T

ABSTRACÎ

A general theory of the thernal" conductivlty of porous media is developed

r¡hlch enphasizes derlvation of expressions with a wide range of applicabillty
and easlly flt to avalLabl-e empirical data. Principal restrictions are heat
transfer by conduction alone and random dlstrlbution and orientatlon of
pores. Appllcatlons and valldating databases are chosen from selected
problen areas of current interest to flsslon reactor fuels and safety.
Validatlng databases also span a wide range of pore types, volume fractlons,
and conductivltles.

v
7-

1.0 INÎRODUCTION

This paper revlsits the very old analytfcal question of the alteration
of a nedltm's thermaL conductivlty by a randon distributlon of pores. tltrlle
the baslc questfons are old, current appllcatlons are wide ranglng and
includes the thernal performance of reactor fuels and naterials. Current
thermal analyses of flssion reactor performance in both intact and dfsrupted
states reveal numerous and diverse examples where the thernal conductlvity of
porous nedia 1s needed, and thls need provides the lmpetus for this present
work.

The anal-ytical problen fs as follows:

1) to account for the effect of randonly dlstrlbuted pores or inclusions
on the soLution of Laplace's heat conductlon equation and
2> to express the result as an altered neffective" thermal conductlvlty
through an equlvalent "homogenized" nedit¡m.
Our concept of 'rporous nedit¡¡n" is lntended to be very general and
encompass any incluslon that ls randomly distrÍbuted throughout an otherwlse
continuous mediun, regardless of which has the higher conductivity. For
exaurple, non-conducting "holes" dlstrlbuted within a conducting solid is a
fanlllar example of a porous medium wlth the holes as Pores and the solid as
the continuous nedium. Alternatively, soLid debris wlthín a gas or liquld
would also be considered a porous nedlum wlth the solÍd debris as "pores" and
the fluld as continuous medÍum.
tle do, however, restrict our attentlon to heat transfer by conductlon
alone. Convectlon 1s noÈ consldered, and radlatlon ls included only insofar
as 1t can be approxlmated as an addltlonal mode of conduction.
The "homogenlzed", equlvalent nedlum concept makes the nost physical
sense to problems where length scales natural to the problen are much larger
than individual- pores. Accordlngly, applicatlon wlLl be most approprlate to
l,arge-scaLe, macroscoplc heat transfer.
Thls report presents a general theory of thermal conduction in porous
nedia with the aim of developlng plausible and sound theoretical expresslons
sultable for purposes of design and analysls and useful for both
lnterpolatlon and extrapolatlon of experlmental data. A najor development
Lncorporated in the present modeLlng is the use of "randomness" and
',unlformityrr assumptlons 1n key pl.aces to enable the solutlons of highl-y
complex prôbl"r" to be tractable. The resulting expressÍons for thernal
conàuctlvlty are useful rsithout detalLed knowledge of pore shape and sizes.
They are also applicable to any of pore vol-t¡ne fractlon and any pore thernal
conductivlty.
Appllcations are made to selected problen areas and validating
databases of current interest to the thermal anal.ysls of fission reactors,
specifically the thermal conductivities of: soLld netalllc fuel which swells
durlng irraâlation, foams for¡ned by neLting gas-rich fuel-, pebble beds, and
debriÀ beds. However, the vaLidating databases were also chosen to sPan a
variety of pore types as well as a wlde range of poroslties and pore-

1
conductivltles. For the databases studied, appropriate analytical
expressions are identified or developed, then compared or fit to available
data.

A wlde range of appLlcabllity fs itself a signlflcant advance over many

theorles and correlatlons 1n current use. For instance, early "classfcal"
theoretical treatments (and derlvatives) datlng back to J. C. MaxweLl tl] are
restricted to snaLl- pore volume fractlons [2,3]. Other popular approaches,
in attenpting to be more general, make sinpllfying asst¡mptlons about heat
flow that turn out to be valld only when pore conductlvitles are very close
to that of the continuous nediun [4]. Still other enpirical formulas are
tled to partlcular experlmental databases and are not suitabLe for
general.lzatlon.

2.O THEORY

2.L Boundlng Model, Constraints and Llrnlts

The net volu¡ne fractlon of naterlal randomly dlstrlbuted as pores

wlthin a continuous nedlum is defined as the porosity, P. Microscoplcally, P
ls deflned as the product of a pore number denslty, n, and an average pore
vol"une, Vn. Macroscopically, if Vo is the volt¡me of the continuous medium and
V is the total voLr:ne lncluding pores, P is given by:
P_
(v-vo) (1)

In this context we have dlstingulshed "microscopic" and 'rmacroscopic" length

scales as belng "the same as" or "nuch Larger than" the dimension of
indlvidual pores.
Certain macroscoplc physical properties of the porous medfu¡m have a
qulte sinple poroslty dependence. For fnstance, using Eq. 1, porous material
density turns out to be slmply the average of the pore and continuous
naterial denslties welghted by the factors P and 1-P respectively.
Slnllarly, a net swelling of the conÈÍnuous ¡redir:n brought about by the
lncluslon of pores, deflned as V/Vo, ls glver by, L/(L-P).
The poroslty dependence of thernal conducÈivity is, in generaL more
complex, but, interestingly, one slmple bounding rnodel for thã dependence of
macroscopic thernal conductlvity on porosity closely follows the sinple
exanple of density. Let Ç and Ç be the thernal conductívitles of the
continuous medir¡n and pore material respectively, and K" be the combined
macroscopic conductlvlty. In a thin sllce cut perpendlcular to an assumed
direction of macroscopic heat fLor¡ a fractlon, l-P, of the area will conduct
heat 1n proportion to thermal conductivtty Ç, and the remainlng fraction, P,
of the area ¡vill conduct heat in proportlon to thermal conductivity, \. If
this thln sllce is placed in an extended nedir:m rcith a temperature graäient

2
normal to the slice, K" is given by an average of Iq and Ç weighted by l-P
and P respectlvely:
K" l"rt..=(o(L-P) +Sf Q)

Conplications arise, however, ln extendlng the Eq. 2 result to

macroscopic thlcknesses. In general, 1f a nr¡mber of axial sllces are stacked
together each with randonly sltuated pores, the mlcroscoplc temperature
grãdient (and hence the direction of heat flow) ln the viclnity of an
indlvldual" pore fs nelther uniform nor nornal to the axlal slice. For
fnstance, lf the pores are non-condgcting (q-Ol, lt 1s evident that heat must
flow around randonly sltuated non-conductlng- pores and the true path length
for heat flowlng through the nedium must exceed the nominal thlckness of the
sllces. Because of thls increased path length, the actual effective thernal
conductivlty will be less than inplted by Eq. 2. GeneraLlzlng fron thls
example, as long as & differs slgntflcantLy fron Ç, heat flow traversing a
number of axlal sliceä devfates from norrnal either by systematically bending
away fron pores, 1f Iç<Ko, or bending toward pores, if_Ke>Ko. I^l elther case,
if pores are randomly situated, the true path length for heat flow exceeds
the nonlnal thickness of Èhe material, and Eq, 2 overestimates effective
ther¡nal conductivity by the ratlo of mlcroscoplc (actuaL)- to- nacroscoplc
(no¡ninal) path l-ength. However, in the liniting case where IÇ approaches Ko,
heat flow becomes normaL to the slices, and the expression, Eq. 2, becomes
exact. the inequalÍty Eq. 3 sr¡n¡narlzes these consideratlons for a correctlon
factor K"/F.o:
K./Ko s 1-(1.-{e/ro)P (3)

where equality holds in the lirnit: Kp*IÇ. The results irnplied by Eq' 3' are
quite general and represent physlcally reasonable constraints and Llmits
agalnst whlch more detalled nodels and ernpirlcal relations nay be tested.
As an example, the widel-y used fornalism developed by Kampf and Karsten
t4l assumes that nicroscoplc heat flow 1n the vfclnity of pores is strictly
along the nominal direction of macroscopic heat fLow, and that the presence
of a pore causes no "bendlng" of the temperature prof1le. Although the
expressions derfved are often applled over a wlde range of conductivitles and
porositles, the preceding dlscussf.on indlcates that thls key assunptlon ls
vaLld only in the limit where Kp-&, where, indeed, derlved expressions agree
wlth Eq. 3.

2,2 General Theory

This sectlon outllnes a generaL (and rather mathematical)
treatment of heat conductÍon through a porous nedlu¡n that accounts for local
dlstortlon of the temperature proftl"e as well as the magnltude of poroslty.
At the microscopic level in the nelghborhood of an individual pore, the
longest-ranged temperature fleld perturbation induced ls that of a "dlpolen
heat source. Expresslons wiLl be derlved whlch show that nodlfication of the
naterial,s thermal- conductivity depends principally on the strength and
concentration of such pore-centered dlpole heat sources. The analytlcal- forn
of these correctÍons 1s nuch simplifled ln the llnlt of dilute pore

3
 -

concentratfons. Making inportant use of the randomness of the poroslty

distrlbution, results fron the dil-ute pore llnlt are generallzed to any pore
concentraÈlon through a dlfferential equation whlch relates pore volume and
effective conductlvity. thls dlfferential equatLon Ís the startlng point of
practical analysis to follow.
lllth conslderabLe generality the perturbatlon of a unlform, unlt
temPerature gradient by a dlstribution of identical pores in an otherwise
unlforn nedlum nay be descrÍbed by the equation:
re)=z+[¿s/n(/rf#T+ terms or order (4)
ffil
T(r) fs the temperature at the poinÈ in space, r - (x,y,z), in the uniforn
nedir-¡m. Pores themseLves are centered at space points, rr, with a number
denslty, n(r'). Tt¡e applled unit tenperature gradlent ls in the z direction.
Equation 4 ls a particular solution to Laplace,s equation, v2T1r¡ - g,
ln the unlforn medlum which meets the requlred boundary condition of a unit,
unÍforn temperature gradient far away from al-J- pores. The right hand side of
Eq. 4 shows an unPerturbed unit temperature gradient followed by a nultipoLe
expanslon of perturbaÈíons centered at pore locations. The ffrst
perturbative term (dipole) shown with the nultipller, c (dlmenslon of
vol-une), is the longest ranged, with the sfnplest angular dependence relative
to the z axfs. The addltlonal "hígher orderrr perturbative tärms indicated
(synbollcally) fall off nore rapidl-y with distance and have more complex
anguLar dependence. The coefficient, C, as welL as coefficlents of irtgher
order Perturbatlve terms, are determined on the basfs of continuity of
temperature and heat flux at the pore boundary surface.
As Long as n(r') is a smooth function that f.s macroscopically slowl-y
varying, it 1s feasible to macroscopically "homogenize,' the te*perature fieLd
ln the porous nedlun by formaLly extending the rãng" of validity of Eq. 4 to
lnclude all space even regÍons actually occupÍed by pores. Becäuse singular
reglons where E -, ts' are no longer excluded fron íts domain, the Lapl-aclan
-operating on the honogenized 1(r) is not identicalLy zeto but can be shown to
be:

vzrþ)-4Íc + terms or order

ry ry (s)

(obtalning the Eq. 5 result makes use of the identlty substitution:

'a(L/ lr-r'l)/azt-.(z-z')/lr-r'It in Eq. 4 followed by an lnregrarlon by parrs
with respect to 2,. The Laplacian operation: v2G/lr-r, l)--416(r-r,¡-
exÈracts the resuLt shol¡n on the rlght hand side of Eq. 5.) Terms on the
right hand side of Eq. 5 represent pore-centered "heat sources". The first
such tern, proportionaL to the gradlent of the pore number density,
represents each pore as a dipole heat source of strength proportiônaL to 4¡rC.
The_ renainlng terns, proportional to higher order of the
"paii"l-derivatives
number denslty, represent higher-order nultipole sources associated wlth each
Pore.

4
 Equatlon 5 nay be integrated over a control volume, using the Gauss
dlvergence theorem to yield:
a\lj) +terms or order ô2n(r) ) (6)
fas.vrç4 =[av <+"c AT
Assume a semi-infinite slab of porous materf.al ln whlch pores are dlstrfbuted
unlformly 1n the x-y plane wlth a boundary located at z-O such that pore
number denslty is n, r¡hen z(0 but 0, when z)0. For z)0, a unLt temperature
gradient exists in the z-direction that ls uniforn over the x-y plane. By
continulty, the same unlform heat flux in the z-dlrection that exists for
z)0 1n the contlnuous nedit¡m must also be present for z(0 ln the honogenized
porous nedium. Flgure 1 shows a eylindrlcal control volume placed wlthin
thls conflguratlon with axis parall-el to the z-axfs with one face located at
z(0 ln the porous nedium and the other ax z)O 1n the continuous nedium.
Applying Eq. 6 to thls control volume, the left hand slde yielde the area of
the control volume face ËÍnes the dlfference in tenperature gradient between
the porous and continuous medium. The right hand sldç of Eq. 6 ylelds, after
integration by parts with respecx to z, the area of the control volt¡me face
tLnes the quantity, 4rn9, (The fact that derlvatives of the number denslty
are 0 on both slde of the z-0 boundary inplies non-zero contribution only
fron the first (dÍpol-e) term on the right hand side.) Iüe are thus led to the
very general result that the teurperature gradient ln the honogenized porous
nedir.¡m is nodified by the factor: L+4rnC. Slnce heat fLux is continuous, the
ratio of porous-to-continuous nedfu:m thernal conductivity equals the ratlo of
conÈinuous-to-porous medir:m temperature gradlent, or:
Kø/Ko=L/(L+4rnC) (7)

Equation 7 provides the analyticaL basis for the desired nodlfication of a

medíun's thernal conductivity.
Evaluation of C is simpllfled considerably by dirnensionaL analysis in
the "dlluterr pore limlt defined by: 4rnC(1. In thls l1mit, temperature
perturbatlons produced by indivlduaL pores lnterfere minfunally with one
another, and determlnatlon of C stmplifies to a nunlt ceLL" type calculation
of the perturbation of a unit temperature gradient by a slngl-e pore placed in
a unlforn nedfu¡m. In this determinatlon, the pore sLze, itseLf, provides the
only length scale, inplylng that C, havlng the dlnension of volume, is
necessarlly proportlonal to the pore volume, Vp. Recalllng that nVn-P, we may
r¡rite:
4nn1 = A(Ky/K) P (diTute pore limit) (8)

where A is a dimensionless quantity dependlng on pore shape and the ratlo of

pore to contlnuous medfu:m conductlvlties. In thls same dlLute pore limit Eq.
7 becomes:
K./Ko = L- A(\/Ko) P (diTute pore Tini't) (9)

General thernal conductivity boundfng constraints implied by Eq. 3 are

rel-evant also to Eq. 9 and iurpose important boundlng l-imits on the
nultiplier, A. As a functlon of c=Kp/&, A(o) must be à1-o for all a>0 wlth
equality ln the l-imit a+l-. Appl"ylng these constraints to non-conducting

5
 -T

Porous Medium Continuous Medium

O
00
o o
r .|

C 0 o I
I
¡
¡

O
o p o
I
I
I
I
I
Direction of
Heat Flow
I

O o I
I
I

0 I
I
t"
0 o ¡

o O i\
I

I
Control
Volume
O 0-
I

o
0

Ffg. 1-. Slde Vfew of a Cylindrlcal Control Voh¡me Spannlng the

Boundary Between the Porous and Continuous Media.

6
 pores, for example, implles that A must be a constant >1. Derivatlons of
A(o) for pore-types of interest w111 be given 1n section 2.4.
GeneralÍzing to aL1 poroslties and pore concentrations, lt is apparent
that evaluation of C could be quite complex lf pores are close enough
together that temperature perturbations interfere. However, our approach
here ls to extend the utility of the expresslons derlved above for the dilute
pore l-init to all pore concentrations through a seguence of udilute"
analyses. The key assumptlon ls that tenperature fiel-d perturbations
produced by random pore dlstrlbutlons nay be snoothed and averaged even down
to a microscoplc l-evel . I,Ie note that extendlng a snoothing assumPtion down
to mlcroscopfc length scales is only plausible for rando¡n dlstributions. In
thls plcture, the s¡noothed and averaged lnfLuence of neighborlng pores 1s
lncluded fn the equlvalent unlfor¡n uredium ln which each índlvidual pore is
e¡nbedded. Conceptually, pore vol-une can be added to the nedium 1n snall
dilute increments so that pores lncluded ln each lnçrement see a uniforn
neditm that incl-udes effects of previously added poroslty and where each
increment further modiffes the equlvalent thernal coçductivlty 1n accord r¡lth
Eq. 9.
Mathe¡ratical-ly, starÈlng fron the pure conducting nedium of volume, Vo,
and conductlvlty, &, lre lncrementalLy add randonly distributed pore volume,
dV. At each step \te have a new totaL volune, V, and effectlve thermal
conductlvlty, K. From Eg. 9, the lncremental change 1n thermal conductlvity,
dK, is glven by:

S=-e<qtx>ff (10)

where the incrementaL "P" in Eg. 9 is glven by dVf/. In Eq. 10, the
function, A, takes on the role of a "kerneln whlch generates particular
solutions. Equatlon 10 may be integrated by seperatlng the varlables, K and
V, provided that the functional- dependence of A(tÇr/K) on continuous nedium
conductivity, K is known. The range requlred for K woutd generally include
values betrcêen Ç and Kn. Equatlon 10 can then be the startlng polnt for
practical analysls to determine K as a functlon of V.
Approaches si¡nll-ar to that underl-ylng Eq. 10 for extendlng dflute
system resul-ts to higher concentratlons have been publlshed previously.
Bruggenan [5] generallzed results for spherfcal pores orlginally obtained by
Maxwell tll to aLl- pore concentratlons, and, ln the context of viscoslty of
dispersed medla, Roscoe t6l slnilarly generaLlzed a resuLt obtained by
Einsteln [7] for low concentrations.

2.3 Distributions of Pore Types and Sizes

I'lhile the above anaLysls has assumed for simplicity a

dlstrlbution of ídentical pores, such an asstrmption is not necessary.
Eguatlons 4-L0 are equaLly approprlate for a distrlbutlon of pore sizes,
shapes and contents provlded that such dlstrlbutlons are unlform in sPace.
The nagnttude, C of the perturbation produced by an lndlvidual pore is
considered an average over number dlstributlon. In Eqs. 8 and 9 dependence
on pore size fs elininated and the dlmensionless nultfpller, A, depends only

4-_
on Pore shaPe and contents. Averaging the multtplier, A, over different pore
shapes and contents amounts to averaging tndivldüal eis weighted by the
contributlon of each type to Ëotal poroiity. The expressioñ for average A is
then used ln the solutlon of Eq. 10.
Ttrls procedure of averaglng the nultlpller A is both physically
reasonable and leads to an unlgue solution of Eq. 10. ttoweve-r, alternative
schemes for adding-in the dl-fferent porosity t)¡pes are mathenatlcall,y
possible, whfch Lead to different results. ,For-example, if Eq. 10 is
developed and solved by adding voh:me of each pore-type separately, one after
the other, the finaL result can depend on the. ärder in wnrän porosity ras
added. Ilhere sirch anbigultles arise, the preferred mathçrnatiäal scheme for
snoothing and av,eraging temperature profllàs 1n the deveiopnent of Eq. 10 is
the one whlch makes the most physical sense. rn genelal, äveragir,g tte
nul-tlplier, A at each step is reco¡nmended.
Even though pore size does not enter lnto the formal analyses of
8-10, the size distribution couLd still- be reLevant to the probiem, if Eqs.
contrlbutlng pore sizes-span several orders of nagnitude.' in such cases, the
underlying assunþtlon that the effects of porosity can be smoothed and
averaged makes physicaL sense for the lnfLuence oi snall pores on l-arge but
not the other way around. Thus, to remain plausÍble, Eq. L0 nust be
integrated by adding pore volume in a sequence of lncreasing pore size. As
long as the slnilarlty assumptlon that the dfunenslonless nuitiplfer, A,
remains lndependent of pore size holds, no modiffcation of the Eq. g-10
analysis ls necessa-ry. Although we will not pursue the posslbility further
in this peper, lf the nultiplier, A, does depänd signifiãantly on pore sLze,
then the soLution of Eq. 10 should incLude an addltlonal depeirdence of A on
pore volunê, V. SpeclficaLl-y, the nultlplier A(IÇ/K,v) useå should reflect
shape and content for the slze of pores betng ad¿e¿ when the total volume Ls
v.

2.4 Tenperature Field perturbations by sfngre pores

In this sectlon we evaluate "unit cell" dipole heaÈ source
strengths, c, generated by single pores perturbing a üniform unit
femperature gradfent. ResuLts of these anaLyses wilL deternine the
dlmenslonless multlpller, A, approprlate to ãtlut" pore concentratlons and
needed for solutlon of the differential equarion, E¿¡. 10. Emphasis will be
placed on deternfnation of analytícal expiesslons that may be fit to
enpirical data for appllcatlons where dlstrlbutfons of po-re size, shape, and
content are not exactly known or easily characterlzed.

8
 2.4.L Spherical Pores

Spherical pores provide a simple "textbook" exampLe

t8l. lhe tenperature fleld ln the vicinlty of a slngle spherlcal pore
tr perturblng a unlform unit temperature gradient in the z directlon ls shown ln
t Eq. 11.
z
7
rì
Tou¿"¡¿.=Z+C
(11)
T1,."¡¿.=BZ

The coordinate system fs pore-centered. The expression for Too¿"16", Èo be

applied outside the pore, is meant to be consistent with Eq. 4, including the
nultfpller, C. Because of spherical synmetry only the 'rdipole[ contribution
survf.ves. The expressfon for Tincide, is a correspondlng dipol,e solutlon to
Laplace's equatf.on that ls regular at r-0 to be applled inslde the pore. l{e
define the pore radius to be R and the thernal conductivities insÍde and
outslde the pore to be \ and K respectively. Parametgrs B and C from Eq. 11
and A fron Eq. 8 nay then be determined by iurposing continulty of
temperature, To,r¿"1de-Ttngtde, and heat flux, KôTo'¿31¿"/ôt-YnôTy¡crae/ôt, at the
pore boundary surface, r-R:
,*&, t=ffil., and (12)
A(KY/K>4:#å
ì
r¡
ft
I lle note that the parameter A(lç/K) of Eq. 12 complles r¡ith the general, Eq. 3
derfved, constralnÈ that A(c) must be àl-a for all c>0 wiÈh equality applylng
ln the llnit a-+1. In partlcular, for non-conducting spherlcal pores:
^(0>-3/2.
2.4.2 Generallzatlon to Pores of Arbitrary Shape

Provlded we are lnterested ln averaged effects, it turns

out that randonly oriented pores of arbltrary shape perturb a uniform
tenperature gradient slmilarly to pores r¡hich are purely spherlcal.
Randonizing pore orientatlons basicall-y elíurinates any directlonal preference
to the angular dependence of temperature fleld perturbations, apart fron the
orlglnal direction of heat flow. The upshot is that temperature fleld
perturbatfons lnvolvÍng angular dependence more complex than dipole heat
sources shown ln Eq. Ll nust disappear when pore orientation ls averaged. In
particular, the general forn of expressions for Tou¿"16" and T1¡s1¿e tnust
everage-out to the dipole expressions given in Eq. 1l- for spherical pores.
As with spherical pores, temperature and heat.fl-ux continuity across
t the pore boundary will dete.rmlne nultipllers B and C. For pores of general
shape, however, continuíty across the pore boundary are required for each
0
partlcular Pore orlentation. Such continuity requirements, when averaged,
Èhen lead to continuity requirements on the Eq. 11 expressfons for Too¿"1¿3 and
Tinside. Random pore orientatlon lmpLies that any such continutty requirements
nust apPly on spherlcal surfaces. l,Ie note that, for pores of general shape,

9
 the seme radlus nfght not apply for contfnuity of both heat flux
temperature. and

lle thus evaluate nultlpllers B and c by ninsfde,, to ,,outside,,

contlnulty of tenperature and radial heat flux inposing
au radial locations, to be
deternined. Ite define a radius, R1 , to be the value
Likewlse, we deffne a radius, R2, to be Èhe value of rofwhen
r wherê TouÈctdc_Tingrde.
51ï:*::tll:_-þôTinsi a./ôr. A voh¡merric radlus, R is defined by rhe
relatfonship: Vo-4r*3/3, but, unless the pores are sphericar, "R1 and R2 are noÈ
ln general equai to eaeh other or equar to n. rn fãct, ,e ¿efine: er-Rrs/R3
and er-gr3lR3 as "shape factorsr' quantiiy tt" ¿evi"tron
pores. I{e non may solve for B, ïhfc! irãn spherÍcal
c and it" ¿trãrrsfonless ,"rlipii"r, A fn
terms of the deffnitions for R1, R2, R, €1, aDd €2. The
ylelds: sor.ution for A,

.T
'-&
A(\/K)=3 (13)
2 *L 5
€z €1 T
However, the tÌ{o shape factors appearing in Eq. 13
are not rearly
fndependent. rmposing Eq. 3 derived coñscraints: A(a)>r.-a
and A(o)-1-o
c+l on Eq' 13, iTpll": Lf e¡+2/e2-3 and ,r>z¡l-.---combinlng rhese
with Eq. 1'3 and defining one'tnãependent- ""
consrrafnrs
iactor, €rê2, we
"i.p" find:
1-5
A(K\/K)=3#_- (14)
:.e_:)+

Equation L4 1s the generalization of Eq. l! to randomly

of an¡¡ shape and provfdes orfented pores
the appropriaËe anaryticar dependence on
conductlvlty, K, for use in the soturton
ls lncluded by a slngle unknown.consÈant "f il: 10. rnä etc.ii of pore shape
,,shape factor,r, e . i ts suu¡ecc to
the constraint e>2/3, and c-l for spheres. rn practlce
a constant to be determfned ernplricáffy. e wfll be regarded as

Referrlng to sec - 2,3, it is possfble fn a number of

porosity welghted average of nur.tipi" pot" typ"" cases to fnclude a
expressfon for the nul-tiplier, A. For instairäe, in a slngre Eq. 14 type
conducting Pores nay be lncluåe¿ in a slngle averagedthe tnfluence of all non-
fs equal to the poioslty-wefghted average for
the shape factor, expression A where
_."r,.,
lndividual shape facãors. ¡" average  for nritrry conductlng of
(IÇ/þ>1), on Èhe, other hand, ,,,s"" ã shape facår, €av', pores,
porosiry-weighred averaging of rh-e qu"r,tiry,-1i<gr-zr:- obtar.ned by a
A for pores with condrrcitvlttes, Kn=¡, f" åq.rií.Lent siniiairy, an average
welghÈed average of q. to using a porosity_

. .2.5 Dependence of Conductivity on poroslty

As long as the nultrprier, A, contalns no explicit
pore volune, dlfferentÍal equatÍon, dependence on
Eq. 10 may be straightforwardry

1_0
integrated by separatlon of variables, K and V. The following solutlon for a
singl-e pore type is very useful- 1n a wide range of practlcal appllcatlons.
Using the expressf.on for A(IÇ/K) fron Eq. L4, the solutlon of Eq. L0 yields:

#"o'Þ þlt-+ = L-p (sínsre pore-type¡ (15)

t"J

where we have used the relatlon L-P-Y"fl and take lÇ as the contlnuous medfu¡m
conductivlty when P*0 (or V-Vo). Equation 15 inplicitly deternlnes effectlve
thernal- conductivlty, K, as a function of porosity, P for alL values of Ç.
For the special case of spherlcal pores, the e-l Llmit of Eq. 15 was flrst
obtalned by Bruggenan [5].
For the special case of non-conducting pores, Iç-0, Eq. 15 sinpllfies
to
(16)
K/Ko - (1-r¡ å' (non - c onduc t ing po r e s )

SlnÍLarly, for the extrene opposite case of highly-conducting pores where:

lÇl&>>f, Eg. 15 sinpLiffes to:
K/Ko = (1-P)-3c
Eãz . potes)\
(highly-conducting (12)

l{hereas.Eq. 15 applles ín general to only a singLe pore-tIpe, Eqs. 16 and L7

results apply to all pore distrlbutions, provfded shape factors are
appropriatel-y averaged.
Because shapes of lsolated pores in dilute systems nay be dlfferent
from pores ln high-porosity systems where they are crowded together, shape
factors may, themsel"ves, depend on the total porosity. Some functional
dependence of e on P should be consldered when fittlng conductlvity data to
solutlons of Eq. 10. Note, however, that the shape factor should remain
constant durlng the mathematical integratlon of Eq. 10 at a val-ue appropriate
to the flnal porosity at the end of the integration.

3.0 APPLICATIONS

3.1 Low-Conductivity Pores

Equation 16 provldes the analytlcal forn for appllcation in the

low pore-conductlvlty llmit. Application w111 be nade to three databases
r+here effectlve conductÍvity has been measured as functlon of porosity.

The first database represents a collection of thermal conductivlty

measure¡nents of sol-id alu¡nint¡m in which a varlety of low-conductlvlty uranlum
compounds plus gas-filled voids were dispersed [9]. These Measurements are
most reLevant to solid, alu¡ninum matrix reactor fuel. Volume fractlons of
low-conductivity naterial (or porosities) were included up to 0.7.

Lt
 Flgure 2 shöws the data along wlth a fit of Eq. 16. As expected,
measured conductlYltles were found to depend prlncipally on the low-
condüctlvlty volune fractlon and not on the partlcular nateríal ln the
dlsperslon.. Evén though nultiple pore-types were present the fact that pore
contents were all low conductlvity all-owed them to be averaged together. The
flt shown 1n Fig. 2 ls lncludes a linear dependence of e on the porosfty, P:
(18)
e = 1. L47 + 1.365P (It compounds plus voids in solid Al)

Ile note that e is near unlty when P is near 0, as ls consistent wlth

spherical pores. As porosity Íncreases, however, the hlgher values of e

sfgnlfy pores of non-spherical sþape.

Another database exlsts for uraniun alLoy reactor fuel swollen ln the
course of lrradiation. In nornal operatlon, both ceramic and netalllc
reactor fueLs trap generated flssion gas wlthln porosity. The effect on
thermal conductlvlty ts especlalLy great ln modern hlgh-swelllng netallic
fuel, where after several at.t of burnup, pore voh¡me fractlons lncrease to
the neighborhood of 25t. lle restrlct our attention to porosity values S
0.25, where pores are prlnarlly filJ.ed with low conductivlty gas. As w111 be
dlscussed below, at higher porosities, pores can lnterconnect and become
logged wlth hlgh-conductivity bond sodir:m. Thernal conducÈlvlty data for any
forrn of lrradlated reactor fuel is difflcult to obtain but some measurements
of thernal conductivity have been made on uranium-"fissitut" (an a1-loy of
uranir.¡n and a representatÍve mixture of selected flsslon products in use for
many years as drlver fuel for EBR-II). Laboratory measurements were made for
porositfes up to L2t by di Novl t10]. Addltlonal ln-plle measurements were
made uslng speciall-y lnstrrrmented fueL pins for porosltles up to 253 by Beck
and Fousek [11].

Figure 3 shows the data and a fit to Eq. 16. Consldering

uncertainties, a constant shape factor:
(19)
e = L.72 (inadiated Il-Fs reactor fuel)

was found to provlde an adequate descrlptlon. This shape factor represents a

slgnificant departure from that of spherical pores.
A thtrd database conslsts of electrlcaL conductlvlty measurements of
lfquld foams over a porosity range of about 0.6 to 0.95. Theoretically, the
dependence of electrlcal conductl.vlty on the amount of non-conductlng
poroslty should be ldentical Co that of thernal èonductlvlty. Ffgure 4 taken
lron nei. lL2J shows measured poroslty dependence of conductlvlty for a
varlety of liquld foams, spannlng a wide range of f.iquld electrical
conductance. Again, as expected, the measure¡nents of porosity dependence
show llttl-e influence by Èhe absolute conductivlty or âny other feature of
the partlcular líquid involved. The line drawn.through the data of Fig. 4 ls
Eq. L6 wlth a constant val-ue of e :
(20)
e = 0.863 (electícal conductívity of Tiquid foams)

Reactor applications may be made to the ther¡nal conductlvlty of foaned-up

llquld metals. If overheated to nelÈing under accident condftlons,
lrradl.ated metalllc reactor fuel night "foam" .up to hlgh'vold fractlon as a

T2
 6.00
S-.
)
5.00
\
MI
4.00 s o
o
ã,
Ë
þ
Yo\
É 3.00
o
U
zJ 2.00
(
o o

1.00
0 .1 .2 .3 .4 .5 .6 .1
Porosiry

Fig. 2. ThernaL Conductivlty vs. Poroslty for Low-Conductívity

Uranftrm Compounds Plus Volds Dispersed ln Solid Aluminr¡¡n.
Data fs fron Ref. 9. Fitted Curve is Described in the Text

t3
 Conductivity vs. Porosity
U-Fs n¡etallic Fuel
1

0. \
f'
0.8
o
\¿ o.7
\¿ \
0.6

0.5
\
0.4
0 0.05 0.1 0.1 5 o.2 0.25
Low-Cond uctivity Porosity

r di Novi '\-\-\ Beck & Fousek fit

-

Fig. 3. Ttrermal Conductlvfty vs. Low-Conductlvlty Porosity in

Uranium-Flsslum Alloy Fuel. Data is fron Refs. 10 and 11.
Fitted Curve is Descrfbed ln the Text.

1-4
 20
a
a

o
*a
Ê
o
)
o
vt
o l0 x

t
>ì
q,
É
(u
o

0 50
IO 30

Ratio of conductivities solution/foam

Points refcr to sodiurn isopropylnlphthalene sulfonate + g]uc (.): same sulfonate
+ atg¡nate (tr); ferious protcin hydrolyzate ( x ), soap (O), and alginate * saponin
(er) '

Flg. 4. El-ectrical Conductivity vs. Denslty of Various Foams

Fitted Curve is Described ln the Text.

15
resul-t of flssion gas bubble growth and coalescence. The heat transfer fron
hot, foarned up fuel- to colder naterials and cool-ant could exert a maJor
influence on a subsequent accÍdent course.
ltrese databases ilLustrate a range of different pore shape factors and,
hence, porosity dependences that can occur 1n practical applications.
Dlfferences observed are l1kely caused by fundanentally dlffeient phenomena
governlng pore orlglns ln particular soLlds or liqulds, and resuLts underllne
a need for emplrical data to provlde some basls for analysls. l{e note that
1n each case, however, Eg. 16 provided the basls of a very good fit.

3.2 High-Conductlvity Pores

Swltchlng aÈtentlon to nedla where. pore-conductivity is hlgh

(tçç¡, solid-gas debris- or pebble- bed mixtures are a prlncipal source of
thernal conductivlty data. Such nlxtures, conprised of granular solld
reactor nateriaLs (pores) funnersed ln a gas (contlnuous nedium) for¡n the
basls of both an advanced fuel type, itself, or the end stage of a very
severe reactor accident. As an advanced fueL type, the pebble bed thernal
conductlvlty dlrectly controls lts operatlng temperature. As the end-stage
of a reactor accident, the thermal conductlvÍty of a debrls bed, Ínfluences
the course of lts eventual cooling.
Figure 5 shorss thernal conductivity measurements from varlous debris
bed sources conpiled by Kuzay [13] plotted agalnst the conductivity of the
soLld pore eonstltuent. Conductivity ratios shown are relative to that of
the gaseous continuous mediun. Mixtures shown fn Flg. 5 represent statlonary
compact beds of uniform spherlcal solld "pores" wlth porosfty clustered
around 0.6. The ratio of \/& spans a wlde range from around 1..8 to 60,000.

Flgure 5 also shows predlctlons of effectlve ther¡nal conductivity nade

by varlous correlatlons. The prediction of Eq. 15 for spherlcal pores, €-1,
requirlng no free parameters has been overlayed and ls seen to provlde a good
fit to the data over its entlre range. The Eq. 15 prediction closely matches
the senl-enpirlcal fit by Imura and Takegoshi [14]. The high pore-
conductlvlty liurlt of Eq. 17 (conductivity ratio of 15.6) ls aLso 1n good
agreement with the data.

In a reLated vaLidation, the e-l Linit of Eq. 15 (in the for¡n of the
Bruggenan eguatlon [5]) has been also shown to predict the effectl.ve thermal
conductlvlty of sÈatlonary nlxtures of polystyrene spheres lnmersed in
llqulds [ls].
3.3 UuLtlple Pore-Types

As a practlcal exanple of multiple pore-types we extend the

previously lntroduced example of lrradiated swoll.en'¡netalllc uranlun-alloy
reactor fuel to porosities > 0.25. In the course of normaL fuel burnup,
these porositles are achleved typícally at l--2 aL,t burnup, at about the same
time swollen fuel contacts cladding. At these hlgh porosltles, pores become
lnterconnected, accunulated fissfon gas ls released to the fuel pln plenun.
Interconnectlon of the porosity also allovrs some ingress of hlgh-conductlvlty
llquld bond sodfu:m into the porosity network. (Bond sodiu¡n ls placed wlthln
fuel- pins at fabricatlon to insure good ther¡nal contact between fuel and lts

L6
 RUSSELL

EUCKEN
o 0ATA BY CRANE A VACHON (0.38<€<0.42)
KAMPF. KARSTEN
. DATA BY STYIFT (E.0,40)
þ2 SWIFT
! DATA BY EIAN A DEISSLER (G'0.40)
IMURA- TAKEGOSHI ( e.O.4O)

FLINTA (e "0.40)

G r r THts PAPER, (SPHEßICAL PCßFS)

t ¡t o
¡o o O¡ o
o
I
a o O
o o
tol
P
\¡ o

þo tol t02 lo5 t04

hs /hg

Ilg.5. Effective Ther:mal Conductlvity of Solld-Gas l{Lxtures as Conplled by

Kuzay'(Ref. 13). Data f.s Fron Packed Spherlcal Beds wlth Poroslty
Values around 0.6. In Our Notatlon, the Figure plots K/Ko Vs. ç/ç.
On the Figure, c denotes l--P. .Popular Correlatlons are Shown rrith a
Predlctlon From Our Present Analysls Added.
claddlng). thls occurs, sodlun-f1lled poroslty has been measured to .be
l{tren
around 6-13* wlth gas-fil-led porosity ln the neighborhood of 20t t16-181.
One way to calculate thermal conductlvity for this distributlon ls to
postulate a blnary distrlbution where pores are filled wlth either high-
conductLvlty sodiurn or low-conductivity gas. The urultÍplier, A needed for
solutlon of differential equatlon, Eq. 10 ls then the porosity-weighted
average of A's for the two pore types. For gas-filled pores, A-3e/2. For
sodir¡n-fllled pores, Eq. 14 expression for A(KNa/K) appl-ies. rf p is the
fractlon of total poroslty Logged wlth sodlun, the nultiplter for the binary
dlstributlon is A-pA(Kxa/K)lnq. g+(1-p)3e/2. Eq. 10 nay rhen be solved
fnpllcftly for K to yield:

where
[f"#]tt+]+=1-P
t=r-i,e(L-P) (porosity partly hogged with sodiun)
(21)

For a slnpllfled approach to sodfun-fiLled pores that fs useful in the li¡nit

where the thernal conductivfty of sodfu.¡n, KN", ls close to that of netallic
fuel itself , we approximate A ln the li¡nlt of K¡"-+K as l-K¡"/K. I.IiÈh thls
approxlnatlon, the nultlplier for the blnary distrlbution becomes
A-p(1-Kr¡r/K)+(L-P)3c/2, and Eq. L0 nay be sol-ved direcrly for K/Ç ro yieLd:
Kt¡" K¡.
K/KO
T; 'l E +
q Ê"l ( 1-P) r
(22)
wherer-=þ*(L-p) 3
C (porosity partly Togged wÍ-th sodiun)
2

The thernal conductivlty measurements perforned in-pile on specially

lnstrrrnented U-Fs fuel pins as a function of burnup reported by Betten t1-91,
referenced ln sec. 3.1, also extended through the onset of sodit¡n
inflltration. Data taken through the crltlcal burnup range associated with
the onset of sodir:m logging shows irregular behavior including sudden ri.ses.
Measuie.d values of K/Ç span.a range between 0.3 and 0.6. tr'oi U-rs alloy fuel
lntroduced in 3.1 at the onsèt of sodir,¡n logglng, p=0.28, þ=0,2, e=L.72, and
Kr¡./Ko=l.4. llith these numbers, Eq. 2L (or 22) inplies that K/Ko lncreases
fron 0.43 to 0.55 wlth the onset of l-ogging, in rough agreement with
measurements,.

4.0 coNcl.usroNs

The principal concluslon drawn fron this r¡ork ls that the classical
problen of the poroslty dependence of thernal conductivity ln porous nedla is
analytically tractable under the assunption that pore distrlbutlons are
uniform and randon. The randomness of the distributions is requíred to be of
sufficient degree that the microscoplc perturbations of the temperature field
produced by representative samples can be snoothed and averaged. Ilith these

18
assumptlons, analytlcal results are remarkably free of restriction and are
appllcable to any pore size dlstrlbution, any pore volume fraction, any Pore
conductlvity, and any pore shape (provlded, of course, pore orientatlon is
also randon). Multiple pore t)rpes are also pernltted. Ihe resulting
sinpLiclty and wlde range of appllcabiLity represents the slgnificant advance
over prevlous treatments of the subject.
Applicatlon of the derived general expressf.ons to practical, problens is
straightforward and very amenable to enplrical- fits. Typically, only one
free parameter, the nshape factor", requires enpirical lnput lf pores are
known not to be spherlcal.

Rather good fits to data rvere obtalned in a nr¡mber of valldating

databases o.f current.lnterest to the thernal perfornance of fisslon reactor
naterials. Databases lncluded pores of low and high thernal conductlvfty;
low and hlgh pore volt¡me fractlons; pores wlth a variety of shape factors;
and mixtures of pore types. As.stated above, flts to each of the databases
lnvoLved baslcally the same conceptual rnodel wlth only the shape factor as an
adjustable parameter, and resulted in practical formulas dlrectly useful ln
application.

5.0 P.EFERENCES

1 J. C. Maxwell, "A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetlsm," Vo7, I,

3rd Ed. Oxford Universlty Press (1391-), reprlnted by Dover, New York
(1es4) .

2. A. L. Loeb, J. A¡ner. Ceran. Soc.37, p.96 (1954).

3 A. Blancherla,.Trans. An. Nucl. Soc. 9, p. 15 (1966).
4 H. Kanpf and G. Karsten, Nucl. Appl. Technol 9. p.288 (1970).
5 D. A. G. Bruggenan, "Cal,culatlon of Dlfferent Physical Constants of
Heterogeneous Substances I: Dielectric0onstant and ConductÍvity of Media
of Isotopic Substances,n AnnaLen der Physlk, Series 5,24, p.636
(1e3s).

6 R. Roscoe, "The Viscosity of Suspenslons of Rlgid Spheres," Britlsh

Journal of Applled Physics 3, P. 267 (L952).
7 A. Einstein, Ann. Phys. , LPz. 19, P. i 34, P. 591- (l-911).
289 (1906)

I L. D. Landau and E. M. Lffshltz, Fluid ìlechanics, p. 191, Pergamon Press

(lese).
9 R. K. ltÍllians, R. S. Graves, R. F. Domagala, and T. C. I'Ielncek,
"ThermaL Conductivlties of U3Si and U3Si2-41 DÍspersion Fuels, "Ptoc.
79th Int. Conf, on Thermal Conductivíty," Cookvllle, TN, Oct. 1985.
1-0. R. A. di Novl, "Effect of Burnup, Swelling, and lrradlation Temperature
on Thermal Dlffusivity and ConductÍvtty of Uranft¡m-Fissium Alloy,"
At'rL-7886 (L972) .

19
 H

1.1. W.-.N. Beck anð R. J. Fousek, "In-Pile Measurement of Flsslon Gas Release
. and Change ln Tlrernal ConductlvÍty for U-5 wt.t Fs Alloy,'r Trans. An.
Nucl. Soc. 23, 1, p. 78 (1969).
iZ. J. J. Blkärnan, Foams, Springer-Verlag (1973), and N. O. Clark, Trans.
Faraday Soc. 44, p. 13 (1948).

13. I. M. Kuzay, nEffective Thermal- Conductivity of Porous Soltd-Gas

Mixtures,t' Æïl,IE llinter Arut. IItg., Paper 80-IíA/HT-63, Chlcago, 1980.
L4. S. Imura and E. Takegoshi, "Effect of Gas Pressure on the Effectlve
Ttiernal conductlvity of Packed beds," Heat Transfer Jap. Research,
L3-26, Oct. L97+

15 A. L. AhuJa, I'Measurement of Thernal Conductivity of (Neutrally and

Nonneutrally Buoyant) Statlonary Suspensions by the Unsteady-State
Method," Journal- of AppLled Physlès 46, p. 747 (1975)
16 L. C. l{alters, B. R. Seidel, and J. H. Kittel, "Performance of Metalllc
Fuel and Bl-ankets tn Liquid-Metal Fast Bieeder Reactors," NucL. Tech.
65, p. L79 (L984).
L7. R..E. Elnzlger.and B. R. Seldel, "Irradiatlon Performance of MetaLlic
Driver Fuel 1n Experfunental Breeder Reactor II to High Burnup," Nucl.
Tech. 50, p. 25 (L980).
18. 1. H. Bauer, A. E. I{right, W.R.Roblnson, J. I.l. Hol_land, and E. A.
Rtrodes, I'Behavior of Modern Metallic Fuel in TREAT Translent Overpower
Tests,n Nucl. lech. 92, 325 (1990).
19. P. R. Betten, r'In-Core MeasurementÉ of Uranium-S wt.t Fissium Alloy
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