Characterization of uranium corrosion products involved in the March 13, 1998 fuel manufacturing facility pyrophoric event

摘要

Uranium metal corrosion products from ZPPR fuel plates involved in the March 13, 1998 pyrophoric event in the Fuel Manufacturing Facility at Argonne National Laboratory-West were characterized using thermo-gravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, and BET gas sorption techniques. Characterization was performed on corrosion products in several different conditions: immediately after separation from the source metal, after low-temperature passivation, after passivation and extended vault storage, and after burning in the pyrophoric event. The ignition temperatures and hydride fractions of the corrosion product were strongly dependent on corrosion extent. Corrosion products from plates with corrosion extents less than 0.7% did not ignite in TGA testing, while products from plates with corrosion extents greater than 1.2% consistently ignited. Corrosion extent is defined as mass of corrosion products divided by the total mass of uranium. The hydride fraction increased with corrosion extent. There was little change in corrosion product properties after low-temperature passivation or vault storage. The burned products were not reactive and contained no hydride; the principal constituents were UO(sub 2) and U(sub 3)O(sub 7). The source of the event was a considerable quantity of reactive hydride present in the corrosion products. No specific ignition mechanism could be conclusively identified. The most likely initiator was a static discharge in the corrosion product from the 14th can as it was poured into the consolidation can. The available evidence does not support scenarios in which the powder in the consolidation can slowly self-heated to the ignition point, or in which the powder in the 14th can was improperly passivated.