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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

THE DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF THE UO$sub 2$ FUEL ELEMENT SYSTEM. Summary Report for Period May 14, 1959-May 31, 1960

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:4010130
Results are presented which were obtained in experimental development of concepts which appear to offer the greatest over-all fuel cycle cost reductions in water type reactors. Savings in advanced PWR fuel by use of thinner stainless steel clad is noted. In vibratory compaction stadies it was found that densities of 91% of theoretical can be produced in four-foot-long rods. Experiments with MgO-filled thbes to determine the feasibility of using the Rock-Rite process to produce UO/sub 2/ fuel rods revealed that cladding is not affected when the reduction-in-area is limited to about 50%. Economic incentives were not established for replacing centrally enriched UO/sub 2/ pellets with surface-layer- enriched for increased burnup lifetimes. A welding process which is intended to eliminate some fuel element repair and inspection problems by fabrication of one layer of elements at a time appears feasible. In other developments the feasibility of ultrasonic inspection of tube-to-tube brazed joints in fuel clusters was established and results of experimerts with dip brazing for fuel rod end closure indicate the feasibility of this process for production purposes. Recommendations are included for future work. (J.R.D.)
Research Organization:
Combustion Engineering, Inc. Nuclear Div., Windsor, Conn.
NSA Number:
NSA-15-018976
OSTI ID:
4010130
Report Number(s):
CEND-88
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English