Uranium-zirconium based alloys part I: reference points for thermophysical properties

An integrated modelling process named Relative Variational Model (RVM) is in development by the fuel designers of the CDTN. The lack of measurements in the thermal and physical properties for new fuels, as well as the high dispersion of the existing measurements are challenges in the development of nuclear fuel concepts since that higher uncertainties of the material properties have as result the detrimental reduction on the safety margins . Based on the RVM, the integrated process has been applied to the derivation of reference points for the U-Zr based alloy. (author)