Diffusion Processes in Nuclear Materials

Diffusion phenomena have played an important role for material scientists in improving products in a variety of fields. An ever widening number of diffusion limited processes have found their way into development, fabrication and irradiation of nuclear materials in controlling grain growth, recrystallisation, sintering, creep, etc. This volume gives a comprehensive overview on the various diffusion processes involved in nuclear materials, whether they are operative in fissionable or fissile nuclear fuels or in the prospective fuels or clads under passive or reactor operating conditions. Unless this information is well understood, it is not possible to develop or fabricate these fuels to withstand the vagaries of temperature, its gradient or changes in stoichiometry. The role of defects and impurities in controlling diffusion processes in nuclear materials is of immense importance and requires its proper evaluation. On irradiation, under the reactor operating conditions, nuclear fuels undergo fission gas release resulting in precipitation into bubbles, or their venting, or radiation induced re-solution, the effects of this irradiation are also examined in depth.