Interaction between U-Mo fuel and Al has proven to dramatically impact the overall irradiation performance of RERTR dispersion fuels. It is of interest to better understand how similar interactions may affect the performance of monolithic fuel plates, where a uranium alloy fuel is sandwiched between aluminum alloy cladding. The monolithic fuel plate removes the fuel matrix entirely, which reduces the total surface area of the fuel that is available to react with the aluminum and moves the interface between the fuel and cladding to a colder region of the fuel plate. One of the major fabrication techniques for producing monolithic fuel plates is friction stir welding. This paper will discuss the interactions that can occur between the U-Mo foil and 6061 Al cladding when applying this fabrication technique. It has been determined that the time at high temperatures should be limited as much as is possible during fabrication or any post-fabrication treatment to reduce as much as possible the interactions between the foil and cladding. Without careful control of the fabrication process, significant interaction between the U-Mo foil and Al alloy cladding can result. The reaction layers produced from such interactions can exhibit notably different morphologies vis-a-vis those typically observed for dispersion fuels.
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