Post-irradiation examination of prototype Al-64 wt% U{sub 3}Si{sub 2} fuel rods from NRU
- Chalk River Labs., Ontario (Canada)
Three prototype fuel rods containing Al-64 wt% U{sub 3}Si{sub 2} (3.15 gU/cm{sup 3}) have been irradiated to their design burnup in the NRU reactor without incident. The fuel was fabricated using production-scale equipment and processes previously developed for Al-U{sub 3}Si fuel fabrication at Chalk River Laboratories, and special equipment developed for U{sub 3}Si{sub 2} powder production and handling. The rods were irradiated in NRU up to 87 at% U-235 burnup under typical driver fuel conditions; i.e., nominal coolant inlet temperature 37{degrees}C, inlet pressure 654 kPa, mass flow 12.4 L/s, and element linear power ratings up to 73 kW/m. Post-irradiation examinations showed that the fuel elements survived the irradiation without defects. Fuel core diametral increases and volumetric swelling were significantly lower than that of Al-61 wt% U{sub 3}Si fuel irradiated under similar conditions. This irradiation demonstrated that the fabrication techniques are adequate for full-scale fuel manufacture, and qualified the fuel for use in AECL`s research reactors.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 567634
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/RERTR/TM-20; CONF-9409107-; ON: DE98000036; TRN: 98:003335
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: International meeting on reduced enrichment for research and test reactors, Williamsburg, VA (United States), 18-22 Sep 1994; Other Information: PBD: Aug 1997; Related Information: Is Part Of Proceedings of the 1994 international meeting on reduced enrichment for research and test reactors; PB: 427 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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