Distribution analysis of TRISO-coated particles in fully ceramic microencapsulated fuel composites

Abstract

FCM nuclear fuel, a concept proposed as an accident tolerant fuel in light water reactors, consists of TRISO fuel particles embedded in a SiC matrix. The uniform dispersion of internal TRISO fuel particles in the FCM fuel is very important for improving the fuel efficiency. In this study, FCM sintered pellets with various volume ratios of TRISO-coated particles were prepared by hot press sintering. The distribution of TRISO-coated particles was quantitatively analyzed using X-ray μCT and expressed as a dispersion uniformity index. TRISO-coated particles were most uniformly dispersed in the FCM pellets prepared using only overcoated TRISO particles without mixing of additional SiC matrix powder. FCM pellets with uniformly dispersed TRISO particle volume fraction of up to 50% were prepared using overcoated TRISO particles with varying thickness.