The commercialization technology of centrifugal atomization for export and technology transfer

During the localization development process of nuclear fuel for HANARO, new fuel fabrication technology, that is, centrifugal atomization method reforming a conventional mechanical comminution method, was applied to prepare spherical fuel powders, and registered as a patent technology in Korea, USA, Germany and Canada in early 1990s. Through the centrifugal atomization technology, fine spherical uranium alloy particles were directly obtained from the alloy melt through rapid cooling by atomization method, without the homogenization treatment and the mechanical comminution of uranium alloys billet. The research group of nuclear fuel for research reactors all over the world has been much interested in the centrifugally atomized fuels, as the atomization technology has very excellent productivity, yield of fuel powder, and in-reactor performance compared with the conventional comminution technology. In order to improve commercial viability, the quality of the atomized powders, the safety and the performance of the atomization equipment for export, technology transfer and localization production, it is necessary to develop the commercialized technology including the development of parts materials, the establishment of fabrication process parameters and apparatus technology