Uranium Nitride: Enabling New Applications for TRISO Fuel Particles.

摘要

The viability and potential benefits of using uranium mononitride (UN) fuel kernels in tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuel particles are examined in this paper. UN kernels could benefit numerous reactor designs that use particle fuels because of the increase in heavy metal loading density that UN offers over other fuels and may enable new application areas for TRISO fuel particles. Monolithic UN fuels in pellet form have been considered for use across fast and space reactor platforms. Given the affinity for UN to react with water and air, its use in light water reactors (LWRs) has not received much attention. Prior experience in fabrication of nitride fuel kernels for use in TRISO particles exists, and a renewed effort is underway to reestablish and enhance this technology. Preliminary calculations investigated the viability of using UN TRISO particles in LWRs, high-temperature gas reactors (HTGRs) and fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactors (FHRs). Results from these depletion studies are reported to examine the neutronics impacts of operating each system with UN TRISO particles.