UPDATE ON MONOLITHIC FUEL FABRICATION METHODS

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. Progress at INL has led to fabrication of hot isostatic pressed uranium-molybdenum bearing monolithic fuel plates. These miniplates are part of the RERTR-8 miniplate irradiation test. Further progress has also been made on friction stir weld processing which has been used to fabricate full size fuel plates which will be irradiated in the ATR and OSIRIS reactors.