Technology Selections for Cylindrical Compact Fabrication

A variety of process approaches are available and have been used historically for manufacture of cylindrical fuel compacts. The jet milling, fluid bed overcoating, and hot press compacting approach being adopted in the U.S. AGR Fuel Development Program for scale-up of the compacting process involves significant paradigm shifts from historical approaches. New methods are being pursued because of distinct advantages in simplicity, yield, and elimination of process mixed waste. Recent advances in jet milling technology allow simplified dry matrix powder preparation. The matrix preparation method is well matched with patented fluid bed powder overcoating technology recently developed for the pharmaceutical industry and directly usable for high density fuel particle matrix overcoating. High density overcoating places fuel particles as close as possible to their final position in the compact and is matched with hot press compacting which fully fluidizes matrix resin to achieve die fill at low compacting pressures and without matrix end caps. Overall the revised methodology provides a simpler process that should provide very high yields, improve homogeneity, further reduce defect fractions, eliminate intermediate grading and QC steps, and allow further increases in fuel packing fractions.