Postirradiation examination of a low enriched U3Si2-Al fuel element manufactured and irradiated at Batan, Indonesia

摘要

The first low-enriched U(sub 3)Si(sub 2)-Al dispersion plate-type fuel element produced at the Nuclear Fuel Element Center, BATAN, Indonesia, was irradiated to a peak (sup 235)U burnup of 62%. Postirradiation examinations performed to data shows the irradiation behavior of this element to be similar to that of U(sub 3)Si(sub 2)-Al plate-type fuel produced and tested at other institutions. The main effect of irradiation on the fuel plates is a thickness increase of 30--40 (mu)m (2.5-3.0%). This thickness increase is almost entirely due to the formation of a corrosion layer (Boehmite). The contribution of fuel swelling to the thickness increase is rather small (less than 10 (mu)m) commensurate with the burnup of the fuel and the relatively moderate as-fabricated fuel volume fraction of 27% in the fuel meat.