Overview of the GTRI Fuel Fabrication Capability

Conference · Thu Mar 22 00:00:00 EDT 2012

OSTI ID:1056762

Burkes, Douglas; Longmire, Holly A; Dombrowski, Dave; Cole, Lance

The Global Threat Reduction Initiative’s (GTRI) Fuel Fabrication Capability (FFC) has been tasked with the establishment and deployment of a fabrication process for the low-enriched uranium-molybdenum (LEU-Mo) monolithic fuel that is currently under development for supply to the U.S. research and test reactor community. The FFC has been designed to bridge fuel fabrication scope and interest between industry (both national and international), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, multiple U.S. national laboratories, and reactor operators and stakeholders. Currently, the FFC is focusing much of its efforts on technology maturation and scale-up of reference processes that have been defined by the GTRI Fuel Development project. This emphasis revolves around three key criteria: (i) establishing the ability to meet throughput demands, (ii) keeping costs as low as reasonably possible, and (iii) ensuring a quality product. At present, the effect of changing fuel fabrication variables on U-Mo monolithic fuel performance is not fully understood. Furthermore, it is likely that the foil production process will continue to evolve with scale-up and commercial deployment. This paper will address the areas that the FFC is focusing on to better understand the impacts of fuel fabrication variables on the resultant fuel plate characteristics, based upon a traditional approach to fuel design qualification and licensing.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1056762
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-85800; NN9002000
• Resource Relation: Conference: RRFM 2012: Research Reactor Fuel Management Transactions, March 18-22, 2012, Prague, Czech Republic
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English