초록 ▼

Methods for making nuclear fuel compacts exhibiting low heavy metal contamination and fewer defective coatings following compact fabrication from a mixture of hardenable binder, such as petroleum pitch, and nuclear fuel particles having multiple layer fission-product-retentive coatings, with the den

Methods for making nuclear fuel compacts exhibiting low heavy metal contamination and fewer defective coatings following compact fabrication from a mixture of hardenable binder, such as petroleum pitch, and nuclear fuel particles having multiple layer fission-product-retentive coatings, with the dense outermost layer of the fission-product-retentive coating being surrounded by a protective overcoating, e.g., pyrocarbon having a density between about 1 and 1.3 g/cm3. Such particles can be pre-compacted in molds under relatively high pressures and then combined with a fluid binder which is ultimately carbonized to produce carbonaceous nuclear fuel compacts having relatively high fuel loadings.

대표청구항 ▼

A nuclear fuel particle comprising a core of generally spheroidal shape containing fissile or fertile nuclear fuel material and having a diameter not greater than about 1,000 microns, a buffer layer of low density pyrocarbon in surrounding location to said core, fission-product-retentive means surro

A nuclear fuel particle comprising a core of generally spheroidal shape containing fissile or fertile nuclear fuel material and having a diameter not greater than about 1,000 microns, a buffer layer of low density pyrocarbon in surrounding location to said core, fission-product-retentive means surrounding said buffer layer designed to retain fission products therewithin and having an exterior surface formed of a material having a density equal to at least about 80% of theoretical density, and a protective overcoating disposed exterior of said fission-product-retentive means and in surrounding relation thereto and having a density not greater than about sixty percent of its theoretical maximum density, said diameter of the nuclear fuel particle including said protective overcoating being not greater than about 5 millimeters, whereby said protective overcoating mechanically protects said relatively fragile fission-product-retentive means from stress encountered during fabricating solid nuclear fuel compacts from said overcoated particles by the uniting of such overcoated particles into integral masses using a hardenable flowable binder.