The analytical and numerical study of the fluorination of uranium dioxide particles

A detailed analytical study of the equations describing the fluorination of UO2 particles is presented for some limiting cases assuming that the mass flowrate of these particles is so small that they do not affect the state of the gas. The analytical solutions obtained can be used for approximate estimates of the effect of fluorination on particle diameter and temperature but their major application, however, is probably in the verification of self-consistent numerical solutions. Computational results are presented and discussed for a self-consistent problem in which both the effects of gas on particles and particles on gas are accounted for. It has been shown that in the limiting cases for which analytical solutions have been obtained, the coincidence between numerical and analytical results is almost exact. This can be considered as a verification of both the analytical and numerical solutions. (orig.)