Getter-lubricant coating for nuclear fuel elements
AssigneeCombustion Engineering, Inc.
InventorDavid N. Palmer
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Abstract
A getter-lubricant coating system between the nuclear fuel and the fuel cladding minimizes the pellet-clad stress concentration and renders fission gases and impurities unreactive to the cladding. The getters are matched to the lubricant matrix such that they are homogeneously dispersed in the matrix and are physically and/or chemically bound in place. A preferred form of the getter is a graphite or boron nitride intercalate of the getter material.
Claims7
A nuclear fuel element comprising a nuclear fuel material, a fuel cladding containing said nuclear fuel material and a coating between said nuclear fuel material and said fuel cladding which is adhered to at least one of said fuel material and said fuel cladding, said coating comprising:
- a. a lubricating matrix comprising a material selected from the group consisting of graphite and boron,
- b. a getter intercalated and chemically bound into said lubricating matrix, said getter selected from the group consisting of zirconium, yttrium, titanium, cerium, cobalt, nickel, chromium and the compounds, alloys and mixtures thereof, and
- c. a binder to form and hold said intercalated lubricating matrix in a continuous film.
A curable film-forming mixture for producing a coating in a nuclear fuel element having gettering and lubricating properties comprising a homogenous mixture of a liquid vehicle, a lubricant matrix, a getter intercalated into said lubricating matrix, and a binder.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.