Abstract
Coated particles were developed as fuel for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors in the United States and Europe in the 1950s. Silicon carbide (SiC) tri-isotropic (TRISO) fuel particles consist of fuel kernel (mainly UO2), porous graphite buffer layer, inner dense pyrolytic carbon (IPyC) layer, SiC layer, and outer dense pyrolytic carbon (OPyC) layer. UO2 kernel is fabricated with the sol–gel technique. The fuel kernels are coated with the aforementioned four layers by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method in a fluidized bed to form SiC-TRISO fuel particles. The fuel particles are sintered with the graphite powder to form the annular cylinder or spherical fuel element. Inspections are carried out to determine whether the fuel elements conform to specifications that certify nuclear and thermal-hydraulic design, irradiation performance, and so on. To be specific, 235U enrichment, O/U ratio, dimensions and the sphericity of the fuel particles, densities of the fuel kernel and each coating layer, thicknesses of each coating layer, exposed uranium fraction in the fuel element, and SiC-failure fraction are estimated.
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