Mechanical and thermal properties of uranium intermetallic compounds

The structures and lattice constants of UFe2, UNi2, UPd3, URh3, URu3 and UNi5 were examined, and thermal expansion coefficients of the intermetallic compounds were evaluated from high-temperature X-ray diffraction data. The longitudinal and shear sound velocities of the intermetallic compounds were markedly different, which enabled us to estimate the elastic properties. The intermetallic compounds were found to have higher bulk moduli than uranium metal. The values of microhardness of the intermetallic compounds except UFe2 were much higher than pure uranium. The physico-chemical properties of the intermetallic compounds such as Debye temperature and heat capacity were estimated from the sound velocities and the thermal expansion data, and the correlations between the properties were discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A.