2007 International RERTR Meeting

Abstracts and Available Papers Presented at the Meeting

Current Status of the Development of High Density LEU Fuel for Russian Research Reactors

A. Vatulin, I. Dobrikova, V. Suprun, Y. Trifonov
Federal State Unitary Enterprise
A.A.Bochvar All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Inorganic Materials (VNIINM)
123060 Rogov 5a, Moscow, Russia

and

E. Kartashev, V. Lukichev
Federal State Unitary Enterprise RDIPE
101000 P.O.Box 788, Moscow, Russia

ABSTRACT

One of the main directions of the Russian RERTR program is to develop U-Mo fuel and fuel elements/ FA with this fuel. The development is carried out both for existing reactors, and for new advanced designs of reactors. Many organizations in Russia, i.e. "TVEL", RDIPE, RIAR, IRM, NPCC participate in the work.

Two fuels are under development: dispersion and monolithic U-Mo fuel, as well two types of FA to use the dispersion U-Mo fuel: with tubular type fuel elements and with pin type fuel elements.

The first stage of works was successfully completed. This stage included out-pile, in-pile and post irradiation examinations of U-Mo dispersion fuel in experimental tubular and pin fuel elements under parameters similar to operation conditions of Russian design pool-type research reactors.

The results received both in Russia and abroad enabled to go on to the next stage of development which includes irradiation tests both of full-scale IRT pin-type and tube-type fuel assemblies with U-Mo dispersion fuel and of mini-fuel elements with modified U-Mo dispersion fuel and monolithic fuel.

 The paper gives a generalized review of the results of U-Mo fuel development accomplished by now.

 

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