Magnox (alloy) explained

Magnox is an alloy - mainly of magnesium with small amounts of aluminium and other metals - used in cladding unenriched uranium metal fuel with a non-oxidising covering to contain fission products in nuclear reactors.Magnox is short for Magnesium non-oxidising.This material has the advantage of a low neutron capture cross section, but has two major disadvantages:

• It limits the maximum temperature (to about 415 Celsius), and hence the thermal efficiency, of the plant.
• It reacts with water, preventing long-term storage of spent fuel under water in spent fuel pools.

The magnox alloy Al80 has a composition of 0.8% aluminium and 0.004% beryllium.^[1]

See also

• Magnox nuclear power reactors.

Notes and References

1. 1963JNuM....8..153H . Secondary recrystallisation in magnox AL 80 . Journal of Nuclear Materials . 8 . 153 . 1963 . Higgins, G. T. . 2 . 10.1016/0022-3115(63)90030-8.