Uranium kernel formation via internal gelation
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Rodney D. Hunt
Summary
In the 1970s and 1980s, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) conducted numerous studies on the fabrication of nuclear fuel particles using the internal gelation process. These amorphous kernels were prone to flaking or breaking when gases tried to escape from the kernels during calcination and sintering. These earlier kernels would not meet today´s proposed specifications for reactor fuel. In the interim, the internal gelation process has been used to create hydrous metal oxide microspheres for the treatment of nuclear waste. With the renewed interest in advanced nuclear fuel by the DOE, the lessons learned from the nuclear waste studies were recently applied to the fabrication of uranium kernels, which will become tri-isotropic (TRISO) fuel particles. These process improvements included equipment modifications, small changes to the feed formulations, and a new temperature profile for the calcination and sintering. The modifications to the laboratory-scale equipment and its operation as well as small changes to the feed composition increased the product yield from 60% to 80%–99%. The new kernels were substantially less glassy, and no evidence of flaking was found. Finally, key process parameters were identified, and their effects on the uranium microspheres and kernels are discussed.
© 2004 Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag GmbH
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- Evidence for the formation of sodium hassate(VIII)
- Study of nitrate complex formation with trivalent Pm, Eu, Am and Cm using a solvent extraction technique
- Hydrolysis of Np(IV) and Pu(IV) and their complexation by aqueous Si(OH)4
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- Speciation study on complex formation of uranium(VI) with phosphate and fluoride at high temperatures and pressures by time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy
- Stability constants of uranium(IV)-α-isosaccharinic acid and gluconic acid complexes
- Uranium(VI) complexes with sugar phosphates in aqueous solution
- Uranium kernel formation via internal gelation
- Investigation of evaporation characteristics of polonium and its lighter homologues selenium and tellurium from liquid Pb-Bi-eutecticum
- Synergistic extraction of Ce(III), Eu(III) and Tm(III) with a mixture of picrolonic acid and tributylphosphine oxide in chloroform
- Synthesis of malonic acid-functionalized Amberlite XAD-4 and its use in solid phase extraction/preconcentrative separation of thorium(IV)
- INAA methodology using low power reactor for the characterization of IAEA-433; Coastal marine sediment as a potential reference material
- Determination of natural radioactivity in building materials used in the Karachi area by γ-ray spectrometry and INAA
- Improved targetry and production of iodine-124 for PET studies
