The development of metallic nuclear fuels for transmutation applications: Materials challenges

Abstract

How would you……describe the overall signifi cance of this paper?For the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership to successfully support the increased utilization of nuclear power, new nuclear fuels will need to be developed that contain long-lived minor actinides that can be transmuted into elements with shorter half-lives. This paper describes the materials challenges associated with developing this type of fuel in a metallic form.…describe this work to a materials science and engineering professional with no experience in your technical specialty?New fuels are being developed that can be used in a nuclear reactor for transmuting long-lived radio-nuclides into ones that are shorter-lived and therefore are easier to dispose of in a geologic repository. This paper describes the types of materials challenges associated with the development of a metallic transmutation fuel. …describe this work to a layperson?Some constituents of irradiated fuel from a nuclear reactor can remain radioactive for a very long time. By taking these elements from the spent fuel and "burning" them in a fast reactor, elements can be produced that are radioactive for shorter time frames. Shorter-lived elements are easier to store in a geologic repository. This paper describes work to develop a metallic fuel that can be used to burn long-lived radioactive elements in a fast reactor.Metallic alloys show great potential to serve as transmutation fuels that could be used to burn long-lived and high-heat-producing minor actinides and fi ssion products in nuclear reactors as part of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership program. To implement these fuels, work is ongoing to develop fuel fabrication processes, characterize alloy microstructures, measure fuel properties, determine the compatibility of fuel and cladding alloys, and understand the performance of the fuel alloys during irradiation.

Density-functional study of bcc Pu–U, Pu–Np, Pu–Am, and Pu–Cm alloys

“…[4], Pu-U-Zr based metallic fuel is one of the possible candidates to transmute minor actinides that can be recovered from the high-level waste by pyroprocess. This is why the principal goal of fast spectrum breeder reactors is to achieve high burn-up rates by fissioning all types of transuranic elements with complete transmutation of long-lived and high-heat-producing minor actinides, thus closing the nuclear fuel cycle with future disposition of the nuclear fuel waste products in a single geological repository [5].…”

Density-functional study of the U–Zr system

“…The main goal of fast breeder reactors is to achieve a so-called "high burn-up" fissioning all types of transuranic elements, rather than only the "fissile" isotopes splitting in the thermal reactors, thus providing an appropriate solution to spent fuel recycling and complete transmutation of long-lived minor actinides (Np, Am, and Cm), which results in creation of a closed nuclear fuel cycle with future disposition of the nuclear waste products in a single geological repository [2]. Early on, metallic fuels (pure U and Pu) have been considered because of their high thermal conductivity (with the very significant safety benefits) in comparison with oxides fuels (e.g., UPuO 2 ) used in thermal reactors.…”

Sodium fast reactor fuels and materials : research needs.

“…The ferritic/martensitic alloys have the potential to solve the irradiation enhanced swelling issue for both cladding and ducts up to at least 150dpa and perhaps 200dpa 5,6 . However, the majority of the high dose data originates from a duct that operated at a relatively low temperature compared to fuel cladding temperatures.…”