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LLNL, Ampera partner to develop thorium-based TRISO fuel
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has formed a strategic partnership with Ampera to develop the company’s nuclear fuel concept through a project named THUNDER, for Thorium Unimodal Droplet Ejection for Reactors.
The focus of THUNDER is fabricating TRISO made with kernels of thorium rather than the usual uranium. LLNL and Ampera will evaluate and optimize liquid metal–jetting technology to produce highly uniform, spherical kernels of thorium-232 for later processing into TRISO fuel.
Robert E. Einziger, Steven C. Marschman, H. Craig Buchanan
Nuclear Technology | Volume 94 | Number 3 | June 1991 | Pages 383-393
Technical Paper | Radioactive Waste Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT91-A15816
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Multiple samples of moderate-burnup pressurized water reactor (PWR) and boiling water reactor (BWR) spent fuel are oxidized in controlled atmosphere dry baths at 175, 130, and 110° C. The atmosphere consists of air humidified to a dew point of either—55 or +80°C. These tests are run for up to 18.8 kh. The weight gain data from these tests are analyzed using a mathematical model incorporating the assumption that oxidation occurs by rapid grain-boundary oxygen diffusion, followed by oxidation of the individual fuel grains. The BWR fuel appears to oxidize slightly faster than PWR fuel, and the data suggest a possible increase in oxidation rate in moist air. Reasonable agreement is observed between the oxidation rate constants obtained in these long-term tests and prior short-term thermogravimetric analysis oxidation tests.