Development of high melting temperature measurement system by laser spot heating

Iwasa, Toma ; Arima, Tatsumi*

Knowledge on the liquefaction (thermal decomposition and melting) temperatures of MA-bearing nitride fuels for transmutation by accelerator-driven system is essential for elucidation of the fuel behaviors under abnormal condition and for the safety analysis. A melting temperature measurement system for refractory materials was developed based on a laser spot heating method, which is expected to measure in a very short time with a small amount of sample, and demonstration tests using refractory metals and zirconium nitride were performed. As the results, it was found that this melting temperature measurement system can be applicable up to the temperatures around 3000 K which is close to the thermal decomposition temperature of nitride fuels and we confirmed the technical feasibility of this system for future application to small specimens of transuranium nitrides.