Cermet fuel for fast reactor – Fabrication and characterization

Category: Transient Plane Source

Author(s): Arun Kumar, G. K. Dey, P.S. Kutty, Shantanu Das, Sudhir Mishra, T. R. G. Kutty

Keywords: ceramic fuel, cermet, fuel, powder, Thermal Conductivity, Transient plane source (TPS) technique

Abstract: This article studied the properties of two compositions of cermet fuels, U-15wt%UO₂ and U-30wt%UO₂. The thermal conductivity of the sintered cermets was determined by the transient plane source (TPS) technique using a Thermal Constant Analyzer. It was found that the thermal conductivity increased for both of the cermet compositions with increasing temperature. This was considered to be favorable as higher thermal conductivities result in a low centerline operating temperature for the fuel at a higher linear power rating. The thermal conductivity of U-15wt%UO₂ cermet was consistently found to be higher than U-30wt%UO2 cermet for the temperatures ranging from 298 to 873 K.

Reference: Journal of Nuclear Materials (2013), 442:400-407

DOI: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2013.08.051

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