DEVELOPMENT OF CORE ELEMENTS FOR THE ENRICO FERMI POWER REACTOR

Technical Report · Fri Oct 31 04:00:00 EST 1958

OSTI ID:4315545

McDaniel, W N; Homeister, O E; Leeser, D O

Various core element binary alloys and configurations have been covered in the core element fabrication development program for the Enrico Fermi Reactor. Atloys of U-Cr, U-Zr and U-Mo were considered. These with good casting qualities were cast into flat plates, corrugated plates, and even large castings with integral coolant channels. The U-3.5 wt. % Mo alloy was reduced to powder by hydriding and fabricated into flat plates by a powder metallurgy technique. Still others were extraded into small diameter cylindrical rods. In all cases it was difficult to develop the technique to suitably clad the fuel alloy, a necessary requirement in order to reduce the amount of fission gas release to the core coolant and to eliminate mass transport of the uranium alloy. A coextrusion process for fabricating cylindrical rods with the cladding metallurgically bonded to the uranium appeared to be a satisfactory method of obtaining the type of cladding desired. Therefore, this fabrication process was chosen for the core elements. The alloy chosen was U-10 wt.% Mo because of its irradiation stability. (auth)

• Research Organization: Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., Md.; Atomic Power Development Associates, Inc., Detroit
• NSA Number: NSA-12-015047
• OSTI ID: 4315545
• Report Number(s): A/CONF.15/P/792
• Country of Publication: Country unknown/Code not available
• Language: English

Related Subjects

CANNING
CASTING
CHROMIUM ALLOYS
CONFERENCE
CONFIGURATION
COOLANT LOOPS
COOLANTS
CYLINDERS
EXPANSION
FABRICATION
FISSION PRODUCTS
FUEL ELEMENTS
GASES
IRRADIATION
MATERIALS TESTING
METALLURGY
MOLYBDENUM ALLOYS
PHYSICS
PLATES
POWDERS
POWER PLANTS
RODS
STABILITY
THERMAL STRESSES
URANIUM ALLOYS
ZIRCONIUM ALLOYS