Abstract
The National Nuclear Security Agency Global Threat Reduction Initiative employs the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors (RERTR) Fuel Development program to facilitate maturation of Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) fuel technology in order to enable conversion of High Power Research Reactors (HPRR) to LEU fuels. The RERTR Fuel Development program has overseen design, fabrication, irradiation, and examination of numerous tests on small to medium sized specimens containing LEU fuels. To enable the three nearest term HPRR conversions, including the Massachusetts Institutes of Technology Reactor (MITR), University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR), and National Bureau of Standard Reactor (NBSR), the FD pillar is currently focused on qualification of the 'Base Monolithic Design'. The Base Monolithic Design consists of uranium-10 wt% molybdenum alloy (U-10Mo) in the form of a monolithic foil, with thin zirconium interlayers, clad in aluminum by hot isostatic press. The licensing basis of the aforementioned HPRR's restricts them from testing lead test elements of their respective LEU fuel element designs. In order to provide the equivalent of a lead test assembly, one Design Demonstration Experiment (DDE) is planned for each of the three NRC licensed reactors.
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