Microstructural Development in an Irradiated Monolithic LEU U-Mo Fuel Plate

摘要

Low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuels are being developed to replace high-enriched uranium (HEU) fuels currently in use in research and test reactors[1]. One of these fuel types is an advanced fuel plate that is called a monolithic fuel plate. It is comprised of a U-Mo foil, with a composition near 10 wt%, that is encased in 6061 Al cladding. Another fuel type being developed is a dispersion fuel that consists of fuel meat, with U-Mo particles dispersed in Al alloy matrix, which is encased in 6061 Al cladding. The replacement of the dispersion fuel meat in the monolithic fuel with a solid U-Mo alloy foil is necessary to maximum the uranium density in the fuel. This is required for those reactors that have the most aggressive performance attributes.