Fabrication and Characterization of Doped UO\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e Nuclear Fuels

Advanced Technology Fuels (ATF) harness the potential to increase safety at nuclear reactors by bolstering resistance to a nuclear incident. The incorporation of dopants into UO2 fuel is one ATF practice intended to increase grain size and, consequently, fission gas retention. In this study, TiO2-doped UO2 fuel pellets were fabricated using conventional powder processing and sintering techniques, characterized, and assessed for their fitness to undergo mechanical testing. Characterization of fabricated pellets determined that the proposed 6- and 10-hour sintering times in an ultra-high purity H2 atmosphere were insufficient parameters to facilitate optimal grain growth (30 μm), a finding that informs future improvements to pellet fabrication. To follow this study is a validated equibiaxial flexural strength test to obtain the transverse rupture strength of the doped fuel pellets