Abstracts and Available Papers Presented at the
2003 International RERTR Meeting

Major results on the development of HIGH DENSiTY U-Mo FUEL and pin-type fuel elements Executed under the Russian RERTR program and in cooperation with ANL (USA)

A. Vatulin, A. Morozov, Y. Stetsky, V. Suprun, I. Dobrikova,
Y. Trifonov, V. Mishunin, V. Sorokin

Federal State Unitary Enterprise
A.A.Bochvar All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Inorganic Materials (VNIINM)
123060 Moscow, P.B. 369, Russia

ABSTRACT

VNIINM is active participant of “Russian program on Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors”. Institute Works in two main directions: 1) development of new high-density fuels (HDF) and 2) development of new design of fuel elements with LEU. The development of the new type fuel element is carried out both for existing reactors, and for developing new advanced reactors. 

The "TVEL" concern is coordinator of works of this program. The majority enterprises of branch (NIIAR, PIYaF, RRC KI, NZChK) take part in this work.

Since 2000 these works are being conducted in cooperation with Argonne National Laboratory (USA) within the RERTR program under VNIINM with ANL contract.

At the present, a large set of pre-pile investigations has been completed. All necessary fabrication procedures have been developed for utilization of U-Mo dispersion fuel in Russian-designed research reactors. For irradiation tests the pin-type mini-fuel elements with HDF dispersion fuel with LEU and the uranium density equaled to 4,0 and 6,0 g/cm3 (up to 40 vol.%) have been manufactured. Their irradiation began in August 2003 in the MIR reactor (NIIAR, Dimitrovgrad).

A large set of works for preparation of lifetime tests (WWR-M reactor in Gatchina) of two full-scale fuel assemblies with new pin-type fuel elements on basis LEU UO2-Al and UMo-Al fuels has been completed. The in-pile tests of fuel assemblies began in September 2003.

The summary of important results of performed works and their near-term future are presented in paper.