Chemical states of fission products in irradiated (U0.3Pu0.7)C1+x fuel at high burn-ups

The chemical states of fission products have been theoretically determined for the irradiated carbide fuel of Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) at Kalpakkam, India, at different burn-ups. The SOLGASMIX-PV computer code was used to determine the equilibrium chemical composition of the fuel. The system was assumed to be composed of a gaseous phase at one atmosphere pressure, and various solid phases. The distribution of elements in these phases and their chemical states at different temperatures were calculated as a function of burn-up. The FBTR fuel, (U0.3Pu0.7)C1+x, was loaded with C/M values in the range, 1.03–1.06. The present calculations indicated that even for the lowest starting C/M of 1.03 in the FBTR fuel, the liquid metal phase of (U, Pu), should not appear at a burn-up as high as 150 GWd/t.