seen to produce sintered kernbrenslekroppar

摘要

Process for producing sintered nuclear fuel elements from powder of uranium dioxide which contains from 3 to 12 per cent by weight of Gd2O3 and possibly up to 20 per cent by weight of U3O8. According to the invention, bodies pressed from the specified powder are sintered at a temperature of at least 800 DEG C in an atmosphere which at 1700 DEG C has an oxygen partial pressure between 0.15 . 10-11 and 1.25 . 10-11 atm. As a result of the low oxygen partial pressure during sintering, oxygen-ion vacancies are formed in the lattice of UO2 . Gd2O3 in the sintered bodies, which results in reduced diffusion of fission gases from the nuclear fuel elements.