Oxidation Protection of Uranium Nitride Fuel using Liquid Phase Sintering

Dr. Paul A. Lessing

关键词: ACCIDENTS;    MELTING POINTS;    NITRIDES;    NUCLEAR FUELS;    OXIDATION;    PELLETS;    PLASMA;    SINTERING;    SODIUM;    STEAM;    THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY;    URANIUM;    URANIUM NITRIDES;    WATER Accident Resistant;    Air and Steam resistant;    Light Water Reactor;    Nuclear Fuel;   

DOI  :  10.2172/1036778
RP-ID  :  INL/EXT-12-24974
PID  :  OSTI ID: 1036778
Others  :  TRN: US1201523

学科分类：核能源与工程

美国|英语

来源: SciTech Connect

【 摘 要 】

Two methods are proposed to increase the oxidation resistance of uranium nitride (UN) nuclear fuel. These paths are: (1) Addition of USi{sub x} (e.g. U3Si2) to UN nitride powder, followed by liquid phase sintering, and (2) 'alloying' UN nitride with various compounds (followed by densification via Spark Plasma Sintering or Liquid Phase Sintering) that will greatly increase oxidation resistance. The advantages (high thermal conductivity, very high melting point, and high density) of nitride fuel have long been recognized. The sodium cooled BR-10 reactor in Russia operated for 18 years on uranium nitride fuel (UN was used as the driver fuel for two core loads). However, the potential advantages (large power up-grade, increased cycle lengths, possible high burn-ups) as a Light Water Reactor (LWR) fuel are offset by uranium nitride's extremely low oxidation resistance (UN powders oxidize in air and UN pellets decompose in hot water). Innovative research is proposed to solve this problem and thereby provide an accident tolerant LWR fuel that would resist water leaks and high temperature steam oxidation/spalling during an accident. It is proposed that we investigate two methods to increase the oxidation resistance of UN: (1) Addition of USi{sub x} (e.g. U{sub 3}Si{sub 2}) to UN nitride powder, followed by liquid phase sintering, and (2) 'alloying' UN nitride with compounds (followed by densification via Spark Plasma Sintering) that will greatly increase oxidation resistance.