HIGH-DENSITY DISPERSION NUCLEAR FUEL WITH SPHERICAL POWDER OF URANIUM ALLOY RAPIDLY COAGULATED BY ATOMIZATION METHOD TAKEN AS DISPERSANT, AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a high-density dispersion unclear fuel with spherical powder of uranium alloy rapidly coagulated by an atomization method taken as dispersant metastable -U phase, formed, a manufacturing process simplified manufacturing space minimized, powder recovery percentage enhanced, powder productivity enhanced, purity enhanced, formability enhanced, porosity reduced, heat conduction in the heat flowing direction enhanced, high-temperature reaction volume expansion caused by reduced boundary surface area reduced and aluminum or the like taken as its ground, and to provide a manufacturing method thereof. SOLUTION: Uranium and a metallic material are weight and put into a heat-resistant crucible 1 provided with a nozzle. The crucible 1 is installed in an atomizing device 100. The interior of a chamber 3 of the atomizing device in which the crucible is installed is maintained at a degree of vacuum of 10-3 torr or less by using a vacuum pump 4. The uranium and the metallic material put in the crucible is melted by using a high-frequency current generator 2. The molten alloy is supplied to make liquid drops by using centrifugal force of a rotary disk, an electrode, or the like, or using high-pressure gas. At the same time, the liquid drops are rapidly coagulated (104 deg.C/s or more) into fine unclear fuel particles in an inert atmosphere such as argon or helium cooling gas.