Abstract
Within the SELENIUM research reactor fuel development program, initiated by SCK•CEN in 2008, the coating of atomised U(Mo) fuel particles has been successfully completed in 2010. This paper reports on the results of the coating and will show some initial results of the annealing experiments of coated particles in an Al matrix.
Currently, fuel plates are being produced by CERCA using the coated particles provided by SCK•CEN. Test productions, based on coated natural uranium kernels will be completed first, after which LEU based plates will be produced. As much as possible, standard production parameters are applied in this production.
The irradiation experiment is planned for this year and consists of 4 flat, full size LEU fuel plates which will be irradiated in BR2. Three fuel plates will contain U(Mo) kernels coated with Si (~300 nm and ~600 nm) and one with ZrN (~1 µm). The 4th fuel plate contains a U(Mo) dispersion in an Al5Si "alloy" matrix made from atomised Al5Si particles. This 4th plate is a reference plate and a direct comparison with the plates irradiated in the E-FUTURE experiment of the European LEONIDAS qualification program. Irradiation conditions will be kept as similar as possible to this experiment.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | Transactions of the European Research Reactor Fuel Management conference (RRFM-2011) |
| Place of Publication | Brussels, Belgium |
| Volume | 1 |
| State | Published - Mar 2011 |
| Event | International Conference on Reseach Reactor Fuel Management - Rome Duration: 20 Mar 2011 → 24 Mar 2011 |
Conference
| Conference | International Conference on Reseach Reactor Fuel Management |
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| Country/Territory | Italy |
| City | Rome |
| Period | 2011-03-20 → 2011-03-24 |