Swelling under irradiation of MgO pellets containing americium oxide: The ECRIX-H irradiation experiment

The ECRIX-H irradiation experiment studied the behaviour of pellets containing americium dispersed in MgO. The purpose of the irradiation was to demonstrate the capacity of magnesia to provide an efficient support matrix. After fabrication, the sintered pellets contained 16.65 wt.% of Am microdispersed in the inert matrix. The ECRIX-H pellets were irradiated under a locally moderated neutron flux in the Phénix sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) for 318 Effective Full Power Days (EFPD). Post-test calculations indicated that the fission and transmutation rates of americium at the maximum flux plane reached 33.9% and 92.6% respectively at the end of the irradiation phase. The results of the post-irradiation examinations – both non-destructive and destructive – are discussed in this paper. These results indicate a satisfactory behaviour of the MgO matrix. Particularly, a moderate swelling occurs in the pellets under irradiation even with significant quantities of helium generated and at high transmutation rate.