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http://dx.doi.org/10.4191/KCERS.2009.46.6.574

HTGR Nuclear Fuel Microsphere Preparation Using the Modified Sol-Gel Method  

Jeong, Kyung-Chai (HTGR Nuclear Fuel Technology Development Division, KAERI)
Kim, Yeon-Ku (HTGR Nuclear Fuel Technology Development Division, KAERI)
Oh, Seung-Chul (HTGR Nuclear Fuel Technology Development Division, KAERI)
Cho, Moon-Sung (HTGR Nuclear Fuel Technology Development Division, KAERI)
Publication Information
Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society / v.46, no.6, 2009 , pp. 574-582 More about this Journal
Abstract
$UO_2$ microsphere particles, core material of HTGR(High Temperature Gas Reactor) nuclear fuel, were prepared using by the GSP(Gel Supported Precipitation) method which is a modified-method of the wet sol-gel process. The spherical shape of initial liquid ADU droplets from the vibration nozzle system was continuously kept till the conversion to the final $UO_2$ microsphere. But the size of a final $UO_2$ microsphere was shrunken to about 25% of an initial ADU droplet size. Also, we found that the composition of dried-ADU gel particles was constituted of the very complicated phases, coexisted the U=O, C-H, N-H, N-O, and O-H functional groups by FT-IR. The important factors for obtain the no-crack $UO_2$ microsphere during the thermal treatment processes must perfectly wash out the remained-$NH_4NO_3$ within the ADU gel particle in washing process and the selections of an appropriate heating rate at a suitable gas atmosphere, during the calcining of ADU gel particles, the reducing of $UO_3$ particles, and the sintering of $UO_2$ particles, respectively.
Keywords
HTGR; Fuel; Sol-gel; $UO_2$ microsphere;
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