Published December 1983 | Version v1
Report Restricted

Fuel systems for compact fast space reactors

Creators

Description

About 200 refractory metal clad ceramic fuel pins have been irradiated in thermal reactors under the 1200 K to 1550 K cladding temperature conditions of primary relevance to space reactors. This paper reviews performance with respect to fissile atom density, operating temperatures, fuel swelling, fission gas release, fuel-cladding compatibility, and consequences of failure. It was concluded that UO2 and UN fuels show approximately equal performance potential and that UC fuel has lesser potential. W/Re alloys have performed quite well as cladding materials, and Ta, Nb, and Mo/Re alloys, in conjunction with W diffusion barriers, show good promise. Significant issues to be addressed in the future include high burnup swelling of UN, effects of UO2-Li coolant reaction in the event of fuel pin failure, and development of an irradiation performance data base with prototypically configured fuel pins irradiated in a fast neutron flux

Availability note (English)

MF available from INIS under the Report Number; Available from NTIS, PC A02/MF A01 as DE84006545.

Files

Restricted

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Additional details

Publishing Information

Imprint Pagination
23 p.
Report number
HEDL-SA--3065-FP

Conference

Title
Symposium on space nuclear power systems.
Dates
10-13 Jan 1984.
Place
Albuquerque, NM (USA).

INIS

Country of Publication
United States
Country of Input or Organization
United States
INIS RN
15050136
Subject category
S21: SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS;
Resource subtype / Literary indicator
Conference
Descriptors DEI
BURNUP; COMPATIBILITY; FISSION PRODUCT RELEASE; FUEL ELEMENT FAILURE; FUEL PINS; FUEL-CLADDING INTERACTIONS; IRRADIATION; LITHIUM; MATERIALS TESTING; NIOBIUM ALLOYS; PERFORMANCE TESTING; PHYSICAL RADIATION EFFECTS; RHENIUM ALLOYS; SPACE POWER REACTORS; SWELLING; TANTALUM ALLOYS; TUNGSTEN ALLOYS; URANIUM CARBIDES; URANIUM DIOXIDE; URANIUM NITRIDES; VERY HIGH TEMPERATURE
Descriptors DEC
ACCIDENTS; ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS; ALKALI METALS; ALLOYS; CARBIDES; CARBON COMPOUNDS; CHALCOGENIDES; DEFORMATION; ELEMENTS; FUEL ELEMENTS; METALS; MOBILE REACTORS; NITRIDES; NITROGEN COMPOUNDS; OXIDES; OXYGEN COMPOUNDS; POWER REACTORS; RADIATION EFFECTS; REACTOR ACCIDENTS; REACTOR COMPONENTS; REACTORS; TESTING; URANIUM COMPOUNDS; URANIUM OXIDES

Optional Information

Secondary number(s)
CONF-840113--6.