Coated particle fuel: Historical perspectives and current progress

Abstract Coated particle fuel concepts date back some 60 years, and have evolved significantly from the relatively primitive pyrocarbon-coated kernels envisioned by the first pioneers. Improvements in particle design, coating layer properties, and kernel composition have produced the modern tristructural isotropic (TRISO) particle, capable of low statistical coating failure fractions and good fission product retention under extremely severe conditions, including temperatures of 1600 °C for hundreds of hours. The fuel constitutes one of the key enabling technologies for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, allowing coolant outlet temperatures approaching 1000 °C and contributing to enhanced reactor safety due to the hardiness of the particles. TRISO fuel development has taken place in a number of countries worldwide, and several fuel qualification programs are currently in progress. In this paper, we discuss the unique history of particle fuel development and some key technology advances, concluding with some of the latest progress in UO2 and UCO TRISO fuel qualification.

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