Thermal and mechanical properties of polycrystalline U3Si2 synthesized by spark plasma sintering

U3Si2 has been explored as an alternative nuclear fuel material for increased accident tolerance. However, scatter has been reported in the thermal properties possibly because of the pores and impurities within the samples. In the present study, we prepared a polycrystalline U3Si2 bulk sample with high density and without impurity, and evaluated its thermal and mechanical properties. The sample was synthesized by arc melting and spark plasma sintering, followed by annealing. The density of the U3Si2 pellet was 96% of the theoretical density. The heat capacity was measured and compared with the calculation data. In addition, the measured data were used to evaluate thermal conductivity of U3Si2. The measurement data of elastic properties were compared with the theoretical calculation and agreed well. A high thermal conductivity and hardness compare to UO(2)make it favorable to anticipated as alternative nuclear fuel.