Westinghouse Electric Company LLC

Lu Cai

Peng Xu

Edward Jean Lahoda

Robert L Oelrich

Hemant H Shah

Jonathan Wright

John L Lyons

Yun Long

An improvement in a nuclear fuel rod is disclosed. The improved fuel rod includes a cladding tube, a plurality of fuel pellets stacked within the cladding tube, and a liquid material filling the gap between the fuel pellets and the cladding tube. The liquid material is selected from those having a thermal conductivity higher than that of helium, a melting point lower than about 400° C., a boiling point higher than 1600° C., and which are capable of wetting both the fuel pellets and the cladding sufficient to form a protective layer over the pellets and to wick into openings that may form in the cladding.

Fuel rod having heat transfer liquid filling the gap between fuel pellets and cladding tube

A method of forming a water resistant boundary on a fissile material for use in a water cooled nuclear reactor is described. The method comprises mixing a powdered fissile material selected from the group consisting of UN and USiwith an additive selected from oxidation resistant materials having a melting or softening point lower than the sintering temperature of the fissile material, pressing the mixed fissile and additive materials into a pellet, sintering the pellet to a temperature greater than the melting point of the additive. Alternatively, if the melting point of the oxidation resistant particles is greater than the sintering temperature of UN or USi, then the oxidation resistant particles can have a particle size distribution less than that of the UN or USi.

Grain boundary enhanced UN and USipellets with improved oxidation resistance

Disclosed herein is a method comprising coating a fissile, uranium-containing ceramic material with a water-resistant layer, the layer being non-reactive with the fissile, uranium-containing ceramic material. The coating is applied to a surface of the fissile, uranium-containing ceramic material. Also disclosed is a fuel for use in a nuclear reactor.

Coated fuel pellets with enhanced water and steam oxidation resistance

Grain boundary enhanced UN and U3Si2 pellets with improved oxidation resistance

A method of forming a water resistant boundary on a fissile material for use in a water cooled nuclear reactor is described. The method comprises coating the fissile material, such as a pellet of USiand/or the grain boundaries, to a desired thickness with a suitable coating material, such as atomic layer deposition or a thermal spray process. The coating material may be any non-reactive material with a solubility at least as low as that of UO. Exemplary coating materials include ZrSiO, FeCrAl, Cr, Zr, Al&#x2014;Cr, CrAl, ZrO, CeO, TiO, SiO, UO, ZrB, NaO&#x2014;BO&#x2014;SiO&#x2014;AlOglass, AlO, CrO, carbon, and SiC, and combinations thereof. The water resistant layer may be overlayed with a burnable absorber layer, such as ZrBor BO&#x2014;SiOglass.

Coated U3Si2 pellets with enhanced water and steam oxidation resistance

The invention relates to compositions and methods for coating a zirconium alloy cladding of a fuel element for a nuclear water reactor. The composition includes a master alloy including one or more alloying elements selected from chromium, silicon and aluminum, a chemical activator and an inert filler. The alloying element(s) is deposited or are co-deposited on the cladding using a pack cementation process. When the coated zirconium alloy cladding is exposed to and contacted with water in a nuclear reactor, a protective oxide layer can form on the coated surface of the cladding.

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Columbia, SC, United States of America

Lu Cai