Numerical simulation of oxidative corrosion of metallic uranium in a confined environment with a validation through existing experimental data
As an energy source and strategic material, uranium usually needs to be stored in a confined environment for long periods of time. Due to its active chemical nature, uranium will inevitably corrode, thus affecting its performance. However, uranium is radioactive, making its degree of corrosion in co...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-03-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Materials Research and Technology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425003989 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849716888500699136 |
|---|---|
| author | Mengxian Xiang Weiquan Liang Ning Ma Sizhi Zuo-Jiang Xuzhou Jiang Hongying Yu Dongbai Sun |
| author_facet | Mengxian Xiang Weiquan Liang Ning Ma Sizhi Zuo-Jiang Xuzhou Jiang Hongying Yu Dongbai Sun |
| author_sort | Mengxian Xiang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As an energy source and strategic material, uranium usually needs to be stored in a confined environment for long periods of time. Due to its active chemical nature, uranium will inevitably corrode, thus affecting its performance. However, uranium is radioactive, making its degree of corrosion in confined environments difficult to measure in real time. In this paper, a three-dimensional transient oxidative corrosion model of uranium metal in a confined oxygen environment was established based on the finite element method, and the oxidation kinetics of uranium in different stages (parabolic stage, transition stage, linear stage, and decline stage) were modeled. The effects of temperature, initial pressure, and sample shape on the oxidative corrosion process of uranium were simulated, and the mechanism of corrosion was analyzed and discussed. The accelerating effect of temperature on the oxidation rate stems mainly from the increase in the reaction rate constant and the significant increase in the gas diffusion rate of confined environment. The higher the initial oxygen pressure, the longer the duration of the linear stage of uranium oxidation kinetics, and the more significant difference between the oxidation rates in the decline stage. Moreover, smaller specific surface area of the sample can slow down the process of oxidative corrosion, but the final oxide film thickness increases. The results provide the relationship between the growth of uranium oxide film thickness and the real-time oxygen pressure change in a confined environment, and provide a valuable reference for predicting the oxidative corrosion behavior of uranium during long-term storage. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-67bfa3b60b6d4f03b1a7428c4ed2a2b4 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2238-7854 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Materials Research and Technology |
| spelling | doaj-art-67bfa3b60b6d4f03b1a7428c4ed2a2b42025-08-20T03:12:50ZengElsevierJournal of Materials Research and Technology2238-78542025-03-01355421543010.1016/j.jmrt.2025.02.151Numerical simulation of oxidative corrosion of metallic uranium in a confined environment with a validation through existing experimental dataMengxian Xiang0Weiquan Liang1Ning Ma2Sizhi Zuo-Jiang3Xuzhou Jiang4Hongying Yu5Dongbai Sun6School of Materials Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University & Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangzhou Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangzhou, 510275, ChinaSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University & Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangzhou Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangzhou, 510275, ChinaSchool of Materials, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518107, ChinaSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University & Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangzhou Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangzhou, 510275, ChinaSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University & Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangzhou Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangzhou, 510275, China; Nanotechnology Research Center, Sun Yat-sun University, Guangzhou, 510275, China; Corresponding author. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University & Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangzhou Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangzhou, 510275, China.School of Materials, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518107, China; Corresponding author.School of Materials Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University & Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangzhou Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangzhou, 510275, China; Corresponding author.As an energy source and strategic material, uranium usually needs to be stored in a confined environment for long periods of time. Due to its active chemical nature, uranium will inevitably corrode, thus affecting its performance. However, uranium is radioactive, making its degree of corrosion in confined environments difficult to measure in real time. In this paper, a three-dimensional transient oxidative corrosion model of uranium metal in a confined oxygen environment was established based on the finite element method, and the oxidation kinetics of uranium in different stages (parabolic stage, transition stage, linear stage, and decline stage) were modeled. The effects of temperature, initial pressure, and sample shape on the oxidative corrosion process of uranium were simulated, and the mechanism of corrosion was analyzed and discussed. The accelerating effect of temperature on the oxidation rate stems mainly from the increase in the reaction rate constant and the significant increase in the gas diffusion rate of confined environment. The higher the initial oxygen pressure, the longer the duration of the linear stage of uranium oxidation kinetics, and the more significant difference between the oxidation rates in the decline stage. Moreover, smaller specific surface area of the sample can slow down the process of oxidative corrosion, but the final oxide film thickness increases. The results provide the relationship between the growth of uranium oxide film thickness and the real-time oxygen pressure change in a confined environment, and provide a valuable reference for predicting the oxidative corrosion behavior of uranium during long-term storage.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425003989UraniumOxidative corrosionNumerical simulationConfined environmentLong-term storage |
| spellingShingle | Mengxian Xiang Weiquan Liang Ning Ma Sizhi Zuo-Jiang Xuzhou Jiang Hongying Yu Dongbai Sun Numerical simulation of oxidative corrosion of metallic uranium in a confined environment with a validation through existing experimental data Journal of Materials Research and Technology Uranium Oxidative corrosion Numerical simulation Confined environment Long-term storage |
| title | Numerical simulation of oxidative corrosion of metallic uranium in a confined environment with a validation through existing experimental data |
| title_full | Numerical simulation of oxidative corrosion of metallic uranium in a confined environment with a validation through existing experimental data |
| title_fullStr | Numerical simulation of oxidative corrosion of metallic uranium in a confined environment with a validation through existing experimental data |
| title_full_unstemmed | Numerical simulation of oxidative corrosion of metallic uranium in a confined environment with a validation through existing experimental data |
| title_short | Numerical simulation of oxidative corrosion of metallic uranium in a confined environment with a validation through existing experimental data |
| title_sort | numerical simulation of oxidative corrosion of metallic uranium in a confined environment with a validation through existing experimental data |
| topic | Uranium Oxidative corrosion Numerical simulation Confined environment Long-term storage |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425003989 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mengxianxiang numericalsimulationofoxidativecorrosionofmetallicuraniuminaconfinedenvironmentwithavalidationthroughexistingexperimentaldata AT weiquanliang numericalsimulationofoxidativecorrosionofmetallicuraniuminaconfinedenvironmentwithavalidationthroughexistingexperimentaldata AT ningma numericalsimulationofoxidativecorrosionofmetallicuraniuminaconfinedenvironmentwithavalidationthroughexistingexperimentaldata AT sizhizuojiang numericalsimulationofoxidativecorrosionofmetallicuraniuminaconfinedenvironmentwithavalidationthroughexistingexperimentaldata AT xuzhoujiang numericalsimulationofoxidativecorrosionofmetallicuraniuminaconfinedenvironmentwithavalidationthroughexistingexperimentaldata AT hongyingyu numericalsimulationofoxidativecorrosionofmetallicuraniuminaconfinedenvironmentwithavalidationthroughexistingexperimentaldata AT dongbaisun numericalsimulationofoxidativecorrosionofmetallicuraniuminaconfinedenvironmentwithavalidationthroughexistingexperimentaldata |