Design and Analysis for Melt Casting Metallic Fuel Pins

A concept for the casting of metallic fuels pins containing low vapor pressure materials is presented and discussed. The important physics of this concept include the mass transport of americium from the melt, the induction heating and stirring of the melt, plus the casting of long slender fuel rods. This paper discusses and presents preliminary modeling results for the casting of long, slender fuel rods. The model considers the flow of the melt into the molds, heat transfer into the molds, and the impact of process parameters on the formation of the fuel rod. (authors)