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August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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Front-end nuclear fuel supply cooperation: Turning allied interdependence into strategic advantage
The global nuclear revival, which is fueled by unprecedented demand for firm, affordable, dispatchable power for artificial intelligence and data center build-out, energy security imperatives, and climate commitments, has exposed a structural reality of the Western fuel cycle: No single allied nation currently possesses the full suite of front-end capabilities. From mining through conversion, enrichment, fabrication, and the emerging deconversion and metallization steps required for reactor fuels, capability is distributed across Canada, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States (collectively, the “Sapporo Five”), as well as a small group of close partners.
P. E. Reagan, F. L. Carlsen, R. M. Carroll
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 18 | Number 3 | March 1964 | Pages 301-318
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE64-A20051
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Fission-gas release from pyrolytic-carbon-coated uranium carbide particles was studied as part of a fuel-development program for gas-cooled reactors. The particles were contained in a test capsule between concentric cylinders of porous graphite and were heated by fission heat. A small flow of helium was used to sweep the fission gas from the test capsule. Uranium carbide particles coated with three types of pyrolytic carbon (laminar, columnar, and duplex), as well as uncoated uranium carbide particles, were irradiated at temperatures up to 1800 F. The steady-state fission-gas release rates were measured as a function of temperature and burnup. All three coating types greatly reduced the fission-gas release rate from uranium carbide particles; the duplex coating was much better than the laminar or the columnar coatings. Post-irradiation examination revealed less than 0.1% broken coatings for the duplex coating. A radiation-induced reaction zone was observed at the fuel/coating interface for all three types. A correlation was made between the number of broken coatings and fission-gas release rate.