Nuclear fuel rod with burnable plate and pellet-clad interaction fix
AssigneeWestinghouse Electric Corp.
InventorRaymond F. Boyle
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An improved nuclear fuel rod comprising a tubular metallic cladding containing a plurality of nuclear fuel pellets has a plurality of ceramic wafers therein, each of which wafers being disposed between a major portion of adjacent fuel pellets. The ceramic wafers are formed from a sintered mixture of natural or depleted uranium dioxide and 1-8 percent by weight gadolinium oxide. The wafers are of a diameter substantially the same as that of the fuel pellets and have a thickness of between 10-100 mils. The wafers freeze out harmful fission products released by the fuel pellets and minimize or prevent pellet-clad interaction failures, while also providing flexibility in power shaping in the reactor system.
Claims16
In a nuclear fuel rod comprising a metallic tubular cladding containing a plurality of nuclear fuel pellets, said pellets containing enriched uranium-235, the improvement comprising:
- a plurality of ceramic wafers, each wafer comprising
- a sintered mixture of gadolinium oxide and uranium dioxide, said uranium oxide having no more uranium-235 than is present in natural uranium dioxide, wherein each of said plurality of wafers is axially disposed between a major portion of adjacent said nuclear fuel pellets, whereby said wafers freeze out volatile fission products produced by said nuclear fuel and prevent interaction of said fission products with said metallic tubing cladding.
A wafer for use in a nuclear fuel rod, to freeze out volatile fission products produced by nuclear fuel pellets within said rod, comprising a sintered mixture for gadolinium oxide and uranium dioxide, said uranium dioxide having no more of the uranium-235 isotope than is present in natural uranium dioxide.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.