Nuclear Science and Engineering / Volume 105 / Number 3 / July 1990 / Pages 205-217
Technical Paper / dx.doi.org/10.13182/NSE90-A19186
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A sample of (U,Pu)-mixed oxide was fission heated along the saturation line and into the compressed liquid regime. The density of the sample at temperatures around 7000 K was determined from the onset of the liquid-phase pressure signal. Values for the compressibility of the (U,Pu)-mixed oxide were determined from the slope of the measured pressure/time signal. Based on these results and earlier measurements, new relations are proposed for the following properties: the density/enthalpy, density/temperature, thermal expansion/temperature, and isothermal compressibility/temperature relations. The ranges of validity are 1400 to 3600 kJ/kg and 3120 to 7600 K, respectively. The property relations are recommended for both liquid UO2 and (U,Pu)O2 with yPu ≤ 0.25. The measured data strongly suggest that the critical temperature of (U,Pu)O2 is well above 8000 K.