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Conference Article: CEA And Areva R&D On HTR Fuel Fabrication & Presentation Of The Gaia Experimental Manufacturing Line

François Charollais, Sophie Fonquernie, Christophe Perrais, CEA Cadarache, St. Paul Lez Durance, FRANCE; Marc Perez, CEA Grenoble, Grenoble Cedex, FRANCE; François Cellier, AREVA Plant Sector, Lyon Cedex, FRANCE; Gérard Harbonnier, AREVA CERCA, Romans sur Isère Cedex, FRANCE

Abstract

In the framework of the French V/HTR fuel development and qualification program, the Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, with AREVA, is conducting R&D projects on HTR covering the mastering of UO2 coated particle and fuel compact fabrication technology. To fulfil this task, a review of past knowledge, of existing technologies and a preliminary laboratory scale studies have been conducted with the aim of recovering the know-how for HTR coated particle and compact manufacture:

The different stages of UO2 kernel fabrication GSP process have been reviewed, reproduced and improved.
The experimental conditions for the chemical vapor deposition of coatings have been defined on surrogate kernels and development of innovative characterization methods have been carried out.
Former CERCA compacting process has been reviewed and actualized.

In parallel, an experimental manufacturing line for coated particles, named GAIA, and a compacting line based on former compacting experience have been designed and are under construction at CEA Cadarache and CERCA Romans, respectively. The major objectives of the CEA GAIA line are:

to produce HTR TRISO particle fuel representative meeting an industrial standard,
to permit the optimisation of reference fabrication processes for kernels and coatings defined previously at a laboratory scale and the investigation of alternative and innovative fuel design (UCO kernel, ZrC coating),
to fabricate and to characterize first batches of coated particles for irradiation.

The major objectives of the CERCA compacting line are:

to recover and validate past knowledge,
to test alternative process options,
and to fabricate compact fuel element for irradiations planned in the OSIRIS reactor (SIROCCO experiment).

This paper presents the state of progress of R&D on HTR fuel particles and compact manufacture and the potential of the GAIA and CERCA lab-scale HTR fuel fabrication lines.

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key words: UO2 kernel, sol-gel, coated fuel particle, fuel compact, CVD, SiC, ZrC, fabrication, characterization

Reference:: Proceedings of the Conference on High Temperature Reactors, Beijing, China, September, 22-24, 2004; International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria); HTR-2004, pp:1-11