Uranium alloying behaviour

Metallic uranium (180, 181) has a photo-electron spectrum with distinct signals, the strongest originating in the 4/, 4d and 5d shells. Most uranium(VI) compounds have similar spectra (15, 37, 181) with a modest chemical shift dl amounting to 3 to 5 eV. This behaviour is comparable to the d groups and very different from europium, where it was early shown (39) that metallic alloys containing the conditional oxidation state 4/7 Eu[II] and Eu(II) compounds such as EuSCU (15) have I of all the inner shells 10 eV lower than of the Eu(III) compounds. 

These guidelines are for corrosion protection of the aluminium cladding, to prevent breach of this cladding and subsequent corrosion of the fuel core. Most research reactor fuel is fabricated from uranium-aluminium alloys, and this type of fuel exhibits corrosion behaviour similar to that of aluminium. Therefore implementation of these guidelines should also minimize corrosion of the fuel core. The corrosion of a metallic uranium core is much more rapid than that of a uranium-aluminium alloy core. Implementing the guidelines to protect aluminium cladding will also reduce the corrosion of this type of fuel core. 

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