FUELS DEVELOPMENT
Direct pneumatic impaction of UO/sub 2/ to 99% TD with punches of conventional design made of tool steel, rather than tungsten carbide, was accomplished for the first time. Improved mechanical strength and uniform microstructure were produced in UO/sub 2/ impacted from pulverized sintered scrap (approximately --48 mesh) by roasting the powder to an O/U ratio of 2.01 before impaction. Solid cermet disks, approximately one inch thick and four inches in diameter, were fabricated by pneumatic impaction. A UO/sub 2/--W cermet was formed by pneumatic impaction of tungsten coated, was pneumatically impacted at 1250 deg C and 225,000 psi to a density of 12.49 g/cm/sup 3/ (97% TD). A US--50 vol% W cermet with a continuous tungsten matrix was compacted by pneumatic impaction at 1200 deg C to a density of 13.63 g/cm/sup 3/ (98% TD). Tool size was increased to make possible the pneumatic impaction of 3.5 pounds of UO/sub 2/- - PuO/sub 2/ at one time. Uniform plutonium distribution was found in UO/sub 2/- 2.5 wt% PuO/sub 2/, and in UO/sub 2/-- 1.3 wt% PuO/sub 2/, formed by pneumatic impaction at 145,000 psi and 1200 deg C. A technique for the encapsulation of cermets simultaneously with pneumatic impaction was developed. Simulated fission product oxides were pneumatically impacted in both 2.5 and 4 inch diameter containers. A manipulator system, consisting of two boom-crane mounted manipulators was installed in the remote fuel element fabrication enclosure. A water tank was installed on one side of the remote fabrication facility for experimental fuel element refurbishing studies. The re!uvenation fuel element (GEH-4-81) was successfully irradiated for one cycle in the MTR at the National Reactor Testing Station and was returned to Hanford for reenrichment. Tungsten was bonded without the formation of the large recrystallization grains that normally appear in the weld zone. Successful joining of pneumatically impacted UO/sub 2/-- 50 wt% W cermet material was achieved. Particle size distribution for vibrational compaction of a 1 3/8/-inch OD x 1/4-inch ID annular fuel capsule was calculated from a mathematical model developed. This distribution gave a 93% theoretical density. A pilot fabrication run of 50 swaged PRTR fuel clusters was essentially completed. Design of the vibration compaction facility for the EBWR plutonium fuel loading was approved. A uniform physical mixture of UO/sub 2/-- PuO/sub 2/ in a fuel rod can be achieved by physically mixing the core material for each rod in an individual container. A gamma-scanning, nondestructive test was developed to obtain both qualitative and quantitative data on the distribution of plutonium in fuel rods. Fuel elements free of external contamination were made from a long coextruded rod of Al--Pu cut into short pieces using machining techniques developed to eliminate contamination at the cut ends. Six UO/sub 2/ thermocouple capsules, l8 eightfoot UO/sub 2/-- PuO/sub 2/ pellet rods, and 550 three-foot Al-- Pu rods were made for various special tests. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- General Electric Co. Hanford Atomic Products Operation, Richland, Wash.
- NSA Number:
- NSA-17-036197
- OSTI ID:
- 4640395
- Report Number(s):
- HW-76301(Paper 2)
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-63
- Country of Publication:
- Country unknown/Code not available
- Language:
- English
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CERAMICS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OPERATION QUARTERLY REPORT, OCTOBER- DECEMBER 1962
CERAMICS RESEARCH
Related Subjects
ALUMINUM ALLOYS
BONDING
CERMETS
COMPACTING
CONTAMINATION
DENSITY
DISTRIBUTION
EBWR
EXTRUSION
FABRICATION
FISSION PRODUCTS
FUEL CANS
FUEL ELEMENTS
FUELS
GRAIN SIZE
HIGH TEMPERATURE
JOINTS
MACHINING
MATERIALS TESTING
MATHEMATICS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
METALLOGRAPHY
MIXING
MOLYBDENUM ALLOYS
MTR
NUMERICALS
OXIDES
PELLETS
PLANNING
PLATES
PLUTONIUM
PLUTONIUM ALLOYS
PLUTONIUM OXIDES
PNEUMATICS
POWDERS
PRESSURE
PRTR
REACTOR FUELING
REACTORS
RECRYSTALLIZATION
REMOTE HANDLING
REPROCESSING
RESEARCH REACTORS
RODS
SINTERED MATERIALS
STEELS
THERMOCOUPLES
THICKNESS
TOOLS
TUNGSTEN
TUNGSTEN ALLOYS
TUNGSTEN CAR