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US 5,002,723 AGranted
Nuclear fuel element
AssigneeThe United States fo America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
InventorRoy W. Zocher
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AssigneeThe United States fo America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
InventorRoy W. Zocher
Estimating the term…
A nuclear fuel element and a method of manufacturing the element. The fuel element is comprised of a metal primary container and a fuel pellet which is located inside it and which is often fragmented. The primary container is subjected to elevated pressure and temperature to deform the container such that the container conforms to the fuel pellet, that is, such that the container is in substantial contact with the surface of the pellet. This conformance eliminates clearances which permit rubbing together of fuel pellet fragments and rubbing of fuel pellet fragments against the container, thus reducing the amount of dust inside the fuel container and the amount of dust which may escape in the event of container breach. Also, as a result of the inventive method, fuel pellet fragments tend to adhere to one another to form a coherent non-fragmented mass; this reduces the tendency of a fragment to pierce the container in the event of impact.
A method of manufacturing a radioactive-decay heat source comprised of a fuel pellet and a metal primary container in which container a fuel pellet or a fractured fuel pellet is immobilized in order to prevent mechanical attrition and breach of said primary container, said method comprising:
A radioactive-decay heat source comprised of a fuel pellet and a primary container in which container a fuel pellet or a fractured fuel pellet is immobilized in order to prevent mechanical attrition and breach of said primary container, where the interior surface of said container is in conformance with the exterior surface of said fuel pellet or fractured fuel pellet such that there are no substantial gaps between said interior surface of the container and said exterior surface of the fuel pellet or fractured fuel pellet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.