According to Taiwan media reported on January 31, researchers at the National Nuclear Research University of Russia conducted a study on nuclear fuel sheathing that uses isotopes of molybdenum metal (Mo) to replace the existing zirconium alloy nuclear fuel sheaths to improve nuclear energy Safety, to avoid the Fukushima accident staged again.
It is reported that in the current nuclear energy principle, the uranium fuel beam is installed in a zirconium alloy sheath. The zirconium alloy has high corrosion resistance. The most important thing is that zirconium hardly reacts with neutrons, so it is an excellent nuclear fuel枓 stick jacket.
In extreme cases, however, if the reactor is water deficient, zirconium and high temperature water vapor above 700 ° C will produce hydrogenation, known as zirconium-water reaction, which will result in deterioration of the fuel casing and meltdown of the reactor, and Hydrogen explosion, which is what happened at the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan.
Nuclear physicists around the world have long been discussing what kind of materials can be used to replace zirconium alloys. This is a rather difficult choice. It must have all the advantages of zirconium alloys, that is, the same high corrosion resistance as zirconium, Higher thermal conductivity, a small neutron cross-sectional area, and its final process cost can not be expensive than zirconium alloys, otherwise it does not make sense.
Now the Russian scientific community believes they may have found the right alternative, the isotope of molybdenum, says Valentin Borisevich, a professor of molecular physics at MEPHI, who uses the gas that would otherwise be used to separate uranium fuels Separator, used to transform into separate isotopes of molybdenum, and ultimately made neutron cross section is even smaller than zirconium, other characteristics and zirconium good material.
Molybdenum is a silvery-gray transitional metal, which is the same family of zirconium and naturally has similar properties: corrosion resistance, high temperature, and its melting point is even higher than zirconium, reaching 2896 K, which is the 6th High temperature, and it is also easy to synthesize hard alloy with other metals.Many isotopes of molybdenum, up to 41, but it is not clear which kind of molybdenum isotopes suitable as a nuclear fuel sheath material, if the technology in the future to be further Identified and widely used, will greatly enhance the safety of existing nuclear power plants.
Russia's National Nuclear Research University is working with the Department of Engineering Physics Tsinghua University for collaborative research, the future of the technology is expected to become a reality.
