Abstract

Ceramic-metallic nuclear fuels are a candidate fuel for nuclear thermal propulsion systems due to their high heat transport properties, which are necessary in very high-temperature environments. The conventional fabrication of uranium nitride–molybdenum fuel has been thoroughly studied in the past, but modern manufacturing techniques have presented a unique opportunity for further development within this field. This work demonstrates the use of advanced manufacturing techniques to produce nuclear fuel pellets composed of uranium nitride microspheres encased in a molybdenum matrix. Binder jetting is used to print molybdenum disks that are filled with uranium nitride microspheres and afterward sintered using spark plasma sintering. Two fuel pellets were fabricated to demonstrate the methodology and to provide a baseline analysis of the effects of temperature and pressure processing conditions. Characterization of the sintered fuel pellets includes detailed microstructural analysis and thermal conductivity measurements.

摘要

陶瓷-金属核燃料由于其高热传输特性而成为核热推进系统的候选燃料，这在非常高温的环境中是必需的。过去对氮化铀-钼燃料的传统制造进行了深入研究，但现代制造技术为该领域的进一步发展提供了独特的机会。这项工作展示了使用先进的制造技术生产由包裹在钼基质中的氮化铀微球组成的核燃料芯块。粘合剂喷射用于打印填充有氮化铀微球的钼盘，然后使用放电等离子烧结进行烧结。制造了两个燃料芯块以演示该方法并提供温度和压力加工条件影响的基线分析。烧结燃料芯块的表征包括详细的微观结构分析和热导率测量。