Thermodynamic modeling of the U–Zr system – A revisit

A new thermodynamic description of the U–Zr system is developed using the CALPHAD (CALculation of PHAse Diagrams) method with the aid of ab initio calculations. Thermodynamic properties, such as heat capacity, activities, and enthalpy of mixing, are well predicted using the improved thermodynamic description in this work. The model-predicted enthalpies of formation for the bcc and δ phases are in good agreement with the results from DFT + U ab initio calculations. The calculations in this work show better agreements with experimental data comparing with the previous assessments. Using the integrated method of ab initio and CALPHAD modeling, an unexpected relation between the enthalpy of formation of the δ phase and energy of Zr with hexagonal structure is revealed and the model improved by fitting these energies together. The present work has demonstrated that ab initio calculations can help support a successful thermodynamic assessment of actinide systems, for which the thermodynamic properties are often difficult to measure.