Quantitative Morphological Characterization of Carbide Inclusions in Uranium Metal

Abstract Uranium carbides (UCs) are prevalent inclusions in U metal that form during melting operations because of interactions with crucible walls and the casting chamber atmosphere. Although UCs have been studied extensively since the beginning of U metal foundry operations, there are still unknowns regarding the effects of thermomechanical processing on their sizes and morphology. Here, we present the results of a series of controlled cooling experiments with molten uranium to elucidate the effect of cooling rate on inclusion morphology in α-U. Samples were melted using a vacuum induction melter and manually cooled at rates of 2.5, 1.7, 1.1, 0.8, and 0.3 (± 1%) K/s from ∼1600 K to