Report on Characterization and Processing of MDD Powder
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Uranium oxide powers most civilian nuclear reactors worldwide. A large infrastructure based on a well-established technology is in place to support this strategic component of the energy industry. Because uranium oxide fuels are used so ubiquitously, it is expected that ceramic fuel pellets will continue to be used. A better understanding of the properties of the starting materials, the processing methods used to fabricate fuel pellets and how the properties of pellets change in service, are important aspects being studied via experiments, models and simulations. A close integration of these approaches is essential if we are to find new ways to optimize both the fuel composition and structure for the purpose of improving performance, e.g., designed microstructures, reducing process losses, e.g. by net shape sintering, and enabling reprocessing of used fuel; e.g., incorporation of transuranics. Ceramic oxide fuel pellets are typically cold pressed and sintered from a powder feedstock. Consequently, a complete understanding of pellet fabrication requires a thorough knowledge of the process from powder synthesis through quality control and acceptance. In this study, uranium oxide powder synthesized by Modified Direct Denitration (MDD) is evaluated. Use of powders synthesized by novel, simplified approaches such as MDD are both a challenge and an opportunity. The MDD synthesis process offers an opportunity to simplify the fabrication process potentially reducing process losses. MDD also provides a simple path to incorporate transuranics from used fuel reprocessing with minimal handling. The challenge is to demonstrate and ultimately prove the reliability and reproducibility of simplified processing with the performance of fuel pellets experiencing in-pile service. This report summarizes a processing study of uranium oxide pellets made from MDD uranium oxide.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- OSTI ID:
- 1049345
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR--12-24233
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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