Thermal properties and oxidation behavior of densified U3Si2 pellets prepared by solid-phase metallurgy combined with spark plasma sintering.

A solid-phase metallurgy combined with spark plasma sintering technology was used to prepare U3Si2 pellets. The thermal conductivity and oxidation behavior of the pellets were studied. The pellets were highly dense (> 98% theoretical density) and had an ultra-high phase purity. The thermal conductivity of the U3Si2 pellets increased linearly with temperature from 300 to 973 K. By further annealing the pellets at 300 °C in air for two hours, the oxidation onset temperature was increased from 490 to 520 °C. A mechanism of pore passivation was proposed to account for the enhanced oxidation resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]