Flexural Strength of Specimens Prepared from Several Uranium Dioxide Powders; Its Dependence on Porosity and Grain Size and the Influence of Additions of Titania

Flexural strengths of specimens prepared from four uranium dioxide powders were determined at room temperature and at 1000°C. The relation of the strength (S) to porosity (P) and to grain size (G) could be represented by the expression S = kG −a e −b P , where k, a , and b are empirical constants which differed with test temperature but did not differ for the different urania powders used. Additions of titania were very effective in promoting sintering and additions of 0.50 or 0.75% by weight markedly increased the strength of the specimens.