Update On Monolithic Fuel Fabrication Development

Efforts to develop a viable monolithic research reactor fuel plate have continued at Idaho National Laboratory. These efforts have concentrated on both fabrication process refinement and scale-up to produce full sized fuel plates. Advancements have been made in the production of U-Mo foil including full sized foils. Progress has also been made in the friction stir welding and transient liquid phase bonding fabrication processes resulting in better bonding, more stable processes and the ability to fabricate larger fuel plates.