Coated particle fuel: Historical perspectives and current progress

doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2018.09.044

Title: Coated particle fuel: Historical perspectives and current progress

Abstract

We report that coated particle fuel concepts date back some 60 years, and have evolved significantly from the relatively primitive pyrocarbon-coated kernels envisioned by the first pioneers. Improvements in particle design, coating layer properties, and kernel composition have produced the modern tristructural isotropic (TRISO) particle, capable of low statistical coating failure fractions and good fission product retention under extremely severe conditions, including temperatures of 1600 °C for hundreds of hours. The fuel constitutes one of the key enabling technologies for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, allowing coolant outlet temperatures approaching 1000 °C and contributing to enhanced reactor safety due to the hardiness of the particles. TRISO fuel development has taken place in a number of countries worldwide, and several fuel qualification programs are currently in progress. Here, we discuss the unique history of particle fuel development and some key technology advances, concluding with some of the latest progress in UO₂ and UCO TRISO fuel qualification.

Authors:

Demkowicz, Paul A. ^[1]; Liu, Bing ^[2];

^[3]

Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Tsinghua University, Beijing (China)
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Publication Date:: 2018-09-29

Research Org.:: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)

OSTI Identifier:: 1494898

Alternate Identifier(s):: OSTI ID: 1635899

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

Resource Type:: Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:: Journal of Nuclear Materials

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Volume: 515; Journal Issue: C; Journal ID: ISSN 0022-3115

Publisher:: Elsevier

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; Coated particle fuel; Tristructural isotropic; TRISO; High temperature gas cooled reactor; HTGR

Citation Formats


                    Demkowicz, Paul A., Liu, Bing, and Hunn, John D. Coated particle fuel: Historical perspectives and current progress.  United States: N. p., 2018. 
        Web.  doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2018.09.044.

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                    Demkowicz, Paul A., Liu, Bing, & Hunn, John D. Coated particle fuel: Historical perspectives and current progress.  United States.  doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2018.09.044.

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                    Demkowicz, Paul A., Liu, Bing, and Hunn, John D. Sat .  
        "Coated particle fuel: Historical perspectives and current progress".  United States.  doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2018.09.044.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1494898.

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@article{osti_1494898,

  title        = {Coated particle fuel: Historical perspectives and current progress},

  author       = {Demkowicz, Paul A. and Liu, Bing and Hunn, John D.},

  abstractNote = {We report that coated particle fuel concepts date back some 60 years, and have evolved significantly from the relatively primitive pyrocarbon-coated kernels envisioned by the first pioneers. Improvements in particle design, coating layer properties, and kernel composition have produced the modern tristructural isotropic (TRISO) particle, capable of low statistical coating failure fractions and good fission product retention under extremely severe conditions, including temperatures of 1600 °C for hundreds of hours. The fuel constitutes one of the key enabling technologies for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, allowing coolant outlet temperatures approaching 1000 °C and contributing to enhanced reactor safety due to the hardiness of the particles. TRISO fuel development has taken place in a number of countries worldwide, and several fuel qualification programs are currently in progress. Here, we discuss the unique history of particle fuel development and some key technology advances, concluding with some of the latest progress in UO2 and UCO TRISO fuel qualification.},

  doi          = {10.1016/j.jnucmat.2018.09.044},

  journal      = {Journal of Nuclear Materials},

  number       = C,

  volume       = 515,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {2018},

  month        = {9}

}

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DOI: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2018.09.044

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Works referencing / citing this record:

Review of Progress in Coated Fuel Particle Performance Analysis
journal, November 2019

Baghdasaryan, Nairi; Kozlowski, Tomasz
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Analysis of Clumped-Pebble Shape on Thermal Radiation and Conduction in Nuclear Beds by Subcell Radiation Model
journal, January 2020

Wu, Hao; Gui, Nan; Yang, Xingtuan
Journal of Heat Transfer, Vol. 142, Issue 3
DOI: 10.1115/1.4045685

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Title: Coated particle fuel: Historical perspectives and current progress

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Citation Formats

Review of Progress in Coated Fuel Particle Performance Analysis journal, November 2019

Analysis of Clumped-Pebble Shape on Thermal Radiation and Conduction in Nuclear Beds by Subcell Radiation Model journal, January 2020

Review of Progress in Coated Fuel Particle Performance Analysis
journal, November 2019

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journal, January 2020