Fabrication and Characterization of Doped UO₂ 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 UO ₂ fuel is one ATF practice intended to increase grain size and, consequently, fission gas retention. In this study, TiO ₂ -doped UO ₂ 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.