Schwarz, C.MLZ* ; Baumeister, B.MLZ* ; Chemnitz, T.MLZ* ; Buducan, K.MLZ* ; Stepnik, B. ; Wight, J. ; Holmström, S.

2023

Abstract: Mini-size fuel plates with monolithic U-10Mo and Zr coating applied by PVD were successfully irradiated and showed stable and predictable swelling behavior in the EMPIrE test. As a next step, the FUTURE-MONO-1 irradiation test is designed to demonstrate this fuel’s performance in full-size geometry and thus qualify it generically for the conversion of European research reactors to low-enriched uranium fuel.As part of this scale-up, Framatome-CERCA demonstrated their capabilities for U-Mo full-size foil fabrication by rolling and laser-cutting, while TUM’s pilot PVD device is able to coat the full-size LEU foils produced this way with a Zr diffusion barrier. The subsequent C2TWP cladding process performed at CERCA provides the final fuel plates.Six identical fuel plates will be fabricated this way, of which two get irradiated at the BR2 reactor to reach a burnup of 60-65% 235U. After cooling, destructive and non-destructive examinations will be performed subsequently to investigate the behavior of the irradiated plates regarding local swelling, oxide formation as well as conditions of fuel meat, Zr coating, and AlFeNi cladding.

Keyword(s): Chemical Reactions and Advanced Materials (1st) ; Materials Science (2nd)

1. CNSI-EXPERIMENT (CNSI-EXPERIMENT)

1. HEU-MEU: Brennstoffentwicklung