Argonne National
Laboratory
P.O. Box 2528
Idaho Falls, Idaho
83403-2528
*9700 Cass Avenue
Argonne, Illinois
60439
ABSTRACT
Initial fabrication
results of U-Mo dispersion fuel have shown a practical uranium loading limit
below that required to successfully convert some of the targeted research
reactors to low-enriched uranium. In
addition, irradiation tests have shown that U-Mo dispersion fuel suffers from
interaction between the fuel and the aluminum matrix at higher temperatures. A
potential solution to mitigate these phenomena is to use a fuel alloy foil in
place of the fuel-aluminum dispersion. This monolithic fuel provides a lower fuel-matrix
interfacial surface area and a much higher uranium density than dispersion type
fuel. Lacking the compliant matrix of dispersion fuel types, monolithic fuel
production requires the development of new fabrication methods. Research
efforts at Argonne National Laboratory have resulted in the demonstration of a
viable monolithic fuel plate production method, which is described in this
paper.
Contact: Mr. Curtis R. Clark
Materials Engineer,
Fuel Development
Argonne
National Laboratory
Nuclear
Technology Division
P.O. Box 2528
Idaho Falls,
ID 83403-2528 USA
Phone: +1 (208) 533-7701
Fax: +1 (208) 533-7340
E-mail: [email protected]
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