Overview of French RandD on SFR MOX fuel fabrication
Résumé
The manufacturing of the (U,Pu)O$_2$ mixed fuel pellets
designed for SFR are being conducted by the french
actors CEA with support from ORANO and EDF,
carrying out an approach covering all the manufacturing
steps, from the implementation of the UO$_2$ and PuO$_2$
actinide oxide powders to the pellet sintering. A reference
fabrication process has been proposed, considering the
experience feedback from fuel manufacturing for Phénix
and SuperPhénix reactors. The recent developments deal
with the increase of the Pu content (up to 30%) and the
effects of aged Pu (thermal and radiolytic effects) which
are among the main challenges to sustain the closed fuel
cycle. The R&D focuses firstly on experimental studies to
deepen the understanding phenomena involved in the
reference process. Further, a physical modelling is
developed to build a simulation tool in order to improve
the performance of each manufacturing steps in a lab-toplant approach. Modelling and simulations are based on
specific experiments (grinding and mixing process,
mechanical measurement on tailored actinide powders,
microscopic characterisation…).
Advances has been achieved in the understanding and
modelling of physical phenomena describing the
phenomenology of each steps. However, numerous
challenges remain today in the modelling.
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