Lattice thermal expansions of (Dy,Zr)N solid solutions

Takano, Masahide ; Tagami, Susumu; Minato, Kazuo ; Kozaki, Tamotsu*; Sato, Seichi*

ZrN is a possible candidate for the diluent material of the nitride fuel containing minor actinides. In the present study, the lattice thermal expansions of ZrN, DyN and (Dy,Zr)N solid solutions were measured by high temperature XRD, as the analogous fuel material. The average linear thermal expansion coefficients of these nitrides increased from 7.8610 to 9.5410 K with increasing Dy fraction. On the analogy with the results on the composition dependence of the thermal expansion coefficients, the preferable effect of ZrN as the diluent material is suggested.