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INL reports findings on unusual quantum behavior of plutonium
Scientists at Idaho National Laboratory have discovered that plutonium hexaboride (PuB6) displays a type of unusual quantum property called a topological Kondo insulating state. Materials with this property are neither typical electricity conductors nor regular insulators. Rather, they have exterior surfaces that strongly conduct electricity and interiors that block electricity.
Ralph G. Bennett
Nuclear Technology | Volume 96 | Number 1 | October 1991 | Pages 117-122
Technical Note | Nuclear Fuel Cycle | doi.org/10.13182/NT91-A35537
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Finite element modeling of the stresses in TRISO-coated fuel particles under normal operating conditions is undertaken with the ABAQUS code. Accurate results for the coating layer stresses are obtained with 30 finite elements in the model and ∼100 time steps through the life of the fuel. When compared to an earlier General Atomics/Forschungszentrum Jülich (GA/KFA) computer model of fuel performance, several discrepancies are uncovered in the earlier model. The GA/KFA model underpredicts the stresses in the silicon carbide layer, and the discrepancy increases with fission gas pressure.