CASTING OF METALLIC NUCLEAR FUEL PINS

THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A CASTING MACHINE FOR METALLIC NUCLEAR FUEL PINS SUITABLE FOR REMOTE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE IN AN INTEGRAL FAST REACTOR (IFR) FUEL CYCLE FACILITY. THE MACHINE USES AN INNOVATIVE CASTING PROCESS THAT CONTINUOUSLY SOLIDIFIES MOLTEN FUEL DISCHARGED FROM A CIRCULAR DIE. THIS METHOD DOES NOT UTILIZE INDIVIDUAL MOLDS AS DOES THE MOLD CASTING TECHNIQUES PRESENTLY USED. PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH MOLD BREAKAGE, SUCH AS SEPARATING OF MOLD FROM METALLIC FUEL AND ACCOUNTING FOR BITS OF METALLIC FUEL BROKEN OFF DURING DEMOLDING, ARE THEREFORE AVOIDED. THE CONTINUOUS CASTING TECHNIQUE IS READILY AMENABLE FOR REMOTE OPERATION. PHASE I OF THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE AND DESIGN OBJECTIVES FOR CASTING OF METALLIC FUEL IN THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE FUEL CYCLE FACILITY (FCF) AT ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY-WEST. FEASIBILITY OF PERFORMANCE IS DEMONSTRATED IN PIN CASTING EXPERIMENTS USING A HIGH MELTING SAMPLE MATERIAL. SPECIFIC ATTENTION IS BEING GIVEN TO ACHIEVING CASTING CONDITIONS THAT PROMOTE HIGH CASTING RATES WITH A FINE CRYSTAL STRUCTURE IN THE SOLIDIFIED MATERIAL. DESIGN FEASIBILITY WILL BE DEMONSTRATED BY CREATING A CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF A FULL SCALE, CONTINUOUS CASTING MACHINE THAT EMPLOYS REMOTE OPERATING PROCEDURES AND IS COMPATIBLE WITH FCF HARDWARE AND PROCEDURES. THIS CONCEPTUAL DESIGN WILL PROVIDE THE STARTING POINT FOR PHASE II DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF THE FULL SCALE CASTING MACHINE.