Advanced types of fuel pellets for light water commercial reactors

JSC 'NAC Kazatomprom' is planning to consolidate its position in the nuclear fuel market. Toward this end there have being carried out investigations target at improvement of operating characteristics of ceramic uranium fuel at JSC 'UMP'. Achievement of these purposes will allow obtaining cost savings of energy output by nuclear power-stations. The most effective way of cost savings of energy output is increase the fuel burn-up. Increase of the terms of fuel cycles due to improvements of fuel assemblies' designs and modification of fuel pellets will assist to settle this problem. For today, from all existing directions that provide a way to increase the fuel burn-up in commercial thermal neutron reactors, supplemented by an increase of 235U enrichment and improvements of fuel assembly designs are those works that directed to the modification of fuel pellets and their microstructure. (authors)