Coated fuel pellets with enhanced water and steam oxidation resistance

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11488730-B2
Application number	US-202017065374-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 7, 2020
Priority date	Mar 17, 2017
Publication date	Nov 1, 2022
Grant date	Nov 1, 2022

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a method comprising coating a fissile, uranium-containing ceramic material with a water-resistant layer, the layer being non-reactive with the fissile, uranium-containing ceramic material. The coating is applied to a surface of the fissile, uranium-containing ceramic material. Also disclosed is a fuel for use in a nuclear reactor.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
coating a fissile, uranium-containing ceramic material with a water-resistant layer, the layer being non-reactive with the fissile, uranium-containing ceramic material, wherein the coating is adhered to a surface of the fissile, uranium-containing ceramic material by atomic layer deposition, a thermal spray technique, chemical vapor deposition, electroless plating, electroplating, or a combination thereof.

2. The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the fissile, uranium-containing ceramic material comprises a uranium silicide, a uranium nitride, a uranium carbide, a uranium boride, a uranium phosphide, a uranium sulfide, a uranium oxide, or a combination thereof.

3. The method recited in claim 2 , wherein the fissile, uranium-containing ceramic material comprises U 3 Si 2 , U 3 Si 5 , U 3 Si, UN, U 15 N, UC, UB 2 , UB 4 , UP, US 2 , UO 2 , UCO, or a combination thereof.

4. The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the fissile, uranium-containing ceramic material is in the form of a pellet.

5. The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the water resistant layer is selected from the group consisting of ZrSiO 4 , FeCrAl, Cr, Zr, Al—Cr, CrAl, ZrO2, CeO 2 , TiO 2 , SiO 2 , UO 2 , ZrB 2 , Na 2 O—B 2 O 3 —SiO 2 —Al 2 O 3 glass, Al 2 O 3 , Cr 2 O 3 , carbon, SiC, Ni, Cr, and combinations thereof.

6. The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the coating is applied by atomic layer deposition.

7. The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the coating is applied by an electroless plating coating technique.

8. The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the coating is applied by a thermal spray process.

9. The method recited in claim 8 , wherein the thermal spray process is physical vapor deposition.

10. The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the coating is applied by an electroplating coating technique, and wherein the fissile, uranium-containing ceramic material is electrically conductive.

11. The method recited in claim 8 , wherein the thermal spray process is a plasma arc spray.

12. The method recited in claim 11 , wherein the thickness of the coating is from 1 micron to 200 microns.

13. The method recited in claim 8 , wherein the thermal spray process is a cold spray process.

14. The method recited in claim 8 , wherein the thermal spray process is a hot spray process.

15. The method recited in claim 1 , further comprising applying a layer of burnable absorbers over the water resistant layer.

16. The method recited in claim 15 , wherein the burnable absorbers are selected from the group consisting of ZrB 2 , B 2 O 3 —SiO 2 glass, and combinations thereof.

17. A fuel for use in a nuclear reactor comprising:
a fissile, uranium-containing ceramic material coated with a water-resistant layer, wherein the coating is adhered to a surface of the fissile, uranium-containing ceramic material by atomic layer deposition, a thermal spray technique, chemical vapor deposition, electroless plating, electroplating, or a combination thereof.

18. The fuel recited in claim 17 , wherein the water resistant layer is selected from the group consisting of ZrSiO 4 , FeCrAl, Cr, Zr, Al—Cr, CrAl, ZrO2, CeO 2 , TiO 2 , SiO 2 , UO 2 , ZrB 2 , Na 2 O—B 2 O 3 —SiO 2 —Al 2 O 3 glass, Al 2 O 3 , Cr 2 O 3 , carbon, and SiC, and combinations thereof.

19. The fuel recited in claim 17 , wherein the fissile, uranium-containing ceramic material comprises U 3 Si 2 , U 3 Si 5 , U 3 Si, UN, U 15 N, UC, UB 2 , UB 4 , UP, US 2 , UO 2 , UCO, or a combination thereof.

20. The fuel recited in claim 17 , wherein the fissile, uranium-containing ceramic material comprises a uranium silicide, a uranium nitride, a uranium carbide, a uranium boride, a uranium phosphide, a uranium sulfide, a uranium oxide, or combinations thereof.

21. The fuel recited in claim 17 , further comprising an integral fuel burnable absorber layer over the water resistant layer for controlling the core reactivity in nuclear reactor operation.

22. The fuel recited in claim 21 , wherein the absorber layer is selected from the group consisting of ZrB 2 , B 2 Q 3 -SiO 2 glass, and combinations thereof.

Assignees

• Westinghouse Electric Co Llc

Inventors

• Lahoda Edward J
• Xu Peng
• Cai Lu

Classifications

• G21C3/045 Primary

  Pellets · CPC title

• G21C3/20

  with coating on fuel or on inside of casing; with non-active interlayer between casing and active material {with multiple casings or multiple active layers} · CPC title

• G21C3/62

  Ceramic fuel · CPC title

• Y02E30/30

  Nuclear fission reactors · CPC title

• G21C21/02

  Manufacture of fuel elements or breeder elements contained in non-active casings · CPC title