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U.S. Department of Energy
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Irradiation performance of HTGR coated particle fuels with ZrC coatings

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/711752· OSTI ID:711752

During the past 25 years of fuel development for the High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR) the Triso particle has evolved as the favored design to optimize economics and performance. The Triso particle consists of a kernel (fissile or fertile), a buffer [porous pyrocarbon (PyC)], an inner PyC layer, a dense SiC layer, and an outer PyC layer. Consideration has been given to replacing the SiC layer with ZrC for applications requiring very high fuel operating temperatures. Other designs using ZrC have also been considered and tested. This report reviews all the irradiation testing data collected within the US program on HTGR fuel particles with ZrC coatings. Fission product retentiveness of particles with ZrC coatings has generally been inferior to that of similar particles with the Triso design, but it is emphasized that the fabrication of ZrC coatings has not been optimized to nearly the extent of that of SiC coatings.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-84OR21400
OSTI ID:
711752
Report Number(s):
ORNL/TM--9085; ON: TI85027092
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English