The initial stages of sintering and hot-pressing in vibro-compacted fuels

Mechanisms for sintering and hot-pressing of vibro-compacted fuels are reviewed, with particular care being taken to compare mechanisms at the same level of approximation. The results are presented in the form of Ashby sintering maps for a range of oxide and carbide sphere-pack fuels relevant to fast reactor conditions. Creep mechanisms, including irradiation creep are found to be important at lower temperatures, whether a load is applied or not. Vapour transport is found to dominate at high temperatures in the absence of a load, with local temperature gradients significantly enhancing growth of particle contact areas. (orig.)