Cermet fuel for fast reactor – Fabrication and characterization

Mishra, Sudhir; Kutty, P.S.; Kutty, T.R.G.; Das, Shantanu; Dey, G. K.; Kumar, Arun

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2013.08.051

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The development of these new materials has been pursued through the investigation of advanced concepts for nuclear fuels (for instance, UO 2 -containing cermet fuel) and/or nuclear reactors [1][2][3]. In the case of advanced nuclear fuels, solutions are sought to some of the inconveniences of the oxide fuel (UO 2 ) currently used, namely insufficient thermal conductivity, insufficient compatibility with sodium, high release of fission gases, and heavy atom low density [2][3][4][5][6][7]. Mishra et al [7] stated that mainly the SS matrix and, to a lesser extent, refractory metal matrix have been used in UO 2 -containing cermet fuel.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the case of advanced nuclear fuels, solutions are sought to some of the inconveniences of the oxide fuel (UO 2 ) currently used, namely insufficient thermal conductivity, insufficient compatibility with sodium, high release of fission gases, and heavy atom low density [2][3][4][5][6][7]. Mishra et al [7] stated that mainly the SS matrix and, to a lesser extent, refractory metal matrix have been used in UO 2 -containing cermet fuel. From a neutronic point of view, regarding the thermal neutron absorption cross-section, for example, some of the most interesting matrices for fast reactor cermet fuels are SS and molybdenum, and, for thermal reactors, zirconium or zircalloy [6,8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Porous Stainless Steel Microsphere Synthesis by a Nonconventional Powder Metallurgy Process Useful in the Cermet-Type Advanced Nuclear Fuel Fabrication

Ribeiro

Ríos

Santos

2023

Journal of Nanomaterials

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The fabrication of SS (stainless steel)-UO2 cermet-type advanced nuclear fuel pellets suitable for use in power reactors depends on the development of metallic (SS), ceramic (UO2), and cermet (SS-UO2) microspheres with special characteristics. In this work, a nonconventional powder metallurgy process was developed to produce porous SS microspheres aiming to contribute to solve the bottlenecks found in the SS-UO2 cermet pellet manufacturing. SS, UO2, and SS-UO2 microspheres and SS-UO2 cermet pellets were fabricated and characterized (XRD, EDX, EDS, and SEM). Hard (153 ± 5 µm; 132.2 ± 24.7 MPa; 72% TD) and soft (216 ± 10 µm; 1.3 ± 0.4 MPa; 17% TD) SS, hard (176 ± 6 µm; 147.4 ± 25.0 MPa; 99% TD) UO2, and cermet (SS-UO2) microspheres were obtained. The soft porous SS microspheres did not micronize properly in situ, but their high compressibility favors the compaction of the green SS-UO2 cermet pellet; in this pellet, the UO2 microspheres behaved as rigid inclusions. This favored the obtainment of sintered SS-UO2 cermet pellets with high geometric densities (93% TD), excellent metal–ceramic interaction, and the preservation of the physical integrity of the UO2 microspheres. The usage of high fractions of the SS-UO2 cermet microspheres obtained mixed with low fractions of the said soft porous SS microspheres is already under development. This will enable the fabrication of SS-UO2 cermet pellets with a volume fraction greater than 42 vol% UO2, a homogeneous distribution of UO2 microspheres in the metallic matrix, and null connection between them. The oxide–metal reduction mechanisms were discussed. The applicability of the process is already being explored in the manufacture of porous NdFeB microspheres.

show abstract