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Fabrication of Cermets via Spark-Plasma Sintering for Nuclear Applications

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Abstract

The development of the optimum processing path for ultrahigh-temperature W-UO2 cermet fuels is of great importance. While W-UO2 is the main point of interest, as part of a scoping study, a set of experiments was conducted to determine the suitability of spark-plasma sintering (SPS) for producing W-CeO2 specimens with CeO2 serving as a surrogate for UO2 fuel kernels. The experiments confirmed that SPS takes place via diffusional mass transfer; however, the densification process is rapidly accelerated because of the effects of current densities within the consolidating specimen. The SPS process yielded dense W-CeO2 specimens with a finer microstructure than other sintering techniques. The specimens were examined using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and electron-backscattered diffraction techniques. Also, great care must be taken to ensure that the particles remain spherical in geometry under the influence of a uniaxial stress as applied during SPS, which involves mixing different fuel kernel sizes to reduce the porosity. Particle mixing techniques are shown to be capable of producing consolidated cermets but with a less than desirable microstructure. The work presented herein will help in the development of high performance cores of very high-temperature reactors for terrestrial and space missions in the future.

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Acknowledgements

The work, in part, was performed by the funds provided by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy University Programs (NE-UP). We would like to gratefully acknowledge the intellectual discussion and assistance of several colleagues, specifically at the Idaho National Laboratory (Mark Carroll, James Werner, Shannon Bragg-Sitton, and Tammy Trowbridge) and Boise State University (Cory Sparks, Jeff Perkins, Jatu Burns, Megan Frary, and Darryl P. Butt).

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  1. Jonathan A. Webb

    Present address: Areva Inc., Richland, WA, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, 83844, USA

    Jonathan A. Webb & Indrajit Charit

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  1. Jonathan A. Webb
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  2. Indrajit Charit
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Correspondence to Indrajit Charit.

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Webb, J.A., Charit, I. Fabrication of Cermets via Spark-Plasma Sintering for Nuclear Applications. JOM 66, 943–952 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-014-0946-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-014-0946-7

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