Ceramic materials for fission and fusion nuclear reactors

A general survey on the ceramics for nuclear applications is presented. For the fission nuclear reactor, the ceramics materials are almost totally used as fuel e.g. (U,Pu)O2; other types of ceramics, e.g. Uranium-Plutonium carbide and nitride, have been investigated as potential nuclear fuels. The (U,Pu)N compound is to be the fuel for the space nuclear power reactor in the U.S.A. For the fusion nuclear reactor, the ceramics should be the fundamental materials for many components: first wall, breeder, RF heating systems, insulant and shielding parts, etc. In recent years many countries are involved on the research and development of ceramic compounds with the principal purpose of being used in the fusion powerplant (year 2010-2020 ?). An effort has been even made to verify if it is possible to use more ceramic components in the fission nuclear plant (probably differntly disigned) to improve the safety level