Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Areva Np Gmbh

Wolfgang Doerr

Gerhard Gradel

Harald Cura

Alain Chotard

Pascal Deydier

Andreas Hoff

Dave Curran

William Jentzen

A sintered fuel pellet for a water nuclear reactor fuel rod including a peripheral wall extending along a central axis and two end faces. At least one of the end faces includes at least a first chamfer extending from the peripheral wall towards the central axis with a first non-zero slope with respect to a plane perpendicular to the central axis and a second chamfer extending from the first chamfer towards the central axis with a second non-zero slope with respect to a plane perpendicular to the central axis, wherein the first slope is different from the second slope.

Nuclear reactor green and sintered fuel pellets, corresponding fuel rod and fuel assembly

A sintered nuclear fuel body includes (U, Pu)O,mixed crystals having a mean particle size in a range from 7.5 &mgr;m to 50 &mgr;m. This sintered nuclear fuel body has a high retention capacity for fission gas in a power reactor. In order to produce the sintered nuclear fuel body by sintering a body in a hydrogen-containing sintering atmosphere, a powered substance selected from the group consisting of aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, niobium oxide, chromium oxide, aluminum stearate, aluminum distearate and aluminum tristearate is added to the starting powder for the body. As an alternative or in addition, the body made from the starting powder is sintered during a holding period of 10 minutes to 8 hours at a sintering temperature of 1400&deg; C. to 1800&deg; C. in a hydrogen-containing sintering atmosphere, initially with an oxygen partial pressure of 10,to 10,bar and then from 10,to 10,and then cooled in a hydrogen-containing atmosphere having an oxygen partial pressure of 10,to 10,bar.

Method for producing a sintered nuclear fuel body

A sintered nuclear fuel body includes (U, Pu)O.sub.2 mixed crystals having a mean particle size in a range from 7.5 .mu.m to 50 .mu.m. This sintered nuclear fuel body has a high retention capacity for fission gas in a power reactor. In order to produce the sintered nuclear fuel body by sintering a body in a hydrogen-containing sintering atmosphere, a powered substance selected from the group consisting of aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, niobium oxide, chromium oxide, aluminum stearate, aluminum distearate and aluminum tristearate is added to the starting powder for the body. As an alternative or in addition, the body made from the starting powder is sintered during a holding period of 10 minutes to 8 hours at a sintering temperature of 1400.degree. C. to 1800.degree. C. in a hydrogen-containing sintering atmosphere, initially with an oxygen partial pressure of 10.sup.-10 to 10.sup.-20 bar and then from 10.sup.-8 to 10.sup.-10 and then cooled in a hydrogen-containing atmosphere having an oxygen partial pressure of 10.sup.-10 to 10.sup.-20 bar.

Sintered nuclear fuel body and method for producing a sintered nuclear

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Herzogenaurach, Germany

Wolfgang Doerr