Active

Contract Opportunity

TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY

Fabrication of Nuclear Fuel Pellets Using Conventional Sintering Methods

A nuclear fuel pellet fabrication technique that successfully incorporates borides into uranium dioxide with conventional methods resulting in a new, advanced fuel with high thermal conductivity.

Opportunity: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), managed and operated by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA), is offering the opportunity to enter into a license and/or collaborative research agreement to commercialize this advanced nuclear fuel pellet fabrication technique. This technology transfer opportunity is part of a dedicated effort to convert government-funded research into job opportunities, businesses and ultimately an improved way of life for the American people.

Overview: Uranium dioxide, UO2, is the most established fuel currently used in the nuclear industry. Despite its multiple benefits, (including a high melting point, structural stability under radiation, resistance to oxidation, and an established history of successful use in light water reactors), it possesses poor thermal conductivity. Thermal conductivity is an important property as it defines the centerline temperature of the fuel. Moreover, the recent Fukishima disaster in 2011 has helped enforce the significance of enhanced thermal conductivity during accident conditions.

Uranium dioxide composites with uranium diboride (UB2) and uranium tetraboride (UB4) have been proposed as advanced fuel candidates due to their high thermal conductivity, high melting point, high fissile density and their ability to incorporate a built-in burnable poison. The state-of-the-art claims that borides cannot be incorporated into uranium dioxide by conventional methods due to the volitization of boron. However, INL’s work in this area successfully achieves this feat through conventional sintering techniques.

Description: Researchers at INL have developed a technique for incorporating borides into uranium dioxide using conventional sintering methods. This method involves the alloying of UB2 by the arc melting technique and milling the material prior to mixing with UO2. The two materials are mechanically mixed by a low energy ball milling technique, and subsequently pressed into pellets and sintered to a >95% theoretical density using conventional pressureless sintering. Analysis of the sintered samples indicates no loss of boron.

Benefits:

• A feasible method for producing an advanced nuclear fuel option with:
  
  
  
  • High thermal conductivity
  
  
  • High melting point
  
  
  • High fissile density
  
  
  
  

Applications:

• Nuclear Fuel Fabrication

Development Status: TRL 3. This method has undergone proof-of-concept work.

IP Status: US Patent Application No. 17/663,307, “Fuel Structures Comprising Uranium Dioxide and Uranium Diboride, and Related Fuel Rod Assemblies and Methods,” BEA Docket No. BA-1261.

Additional Information

E. Kardoulaki, D.M. Frazer, J.T. White, U. Carvajal, A.T. Nelson, D.D. Byler, T.A. Saleh, B. Gong, T. Yao, J. Lian, K.J. McClellan, “Fabrication and thermophysical properties of UO2-UB2 and UO2-UB4 composites sintered via spark plasma sintering,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, Volume 544, 2021, 152690, ISSN 0022-3115, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2020.152690.

INL is seeking to license the above intellectual property to a company with a demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Exclusive rights in defined fields of use may be available. Added value is placed on relationships with small businesses, start-up companies, and general entrepreneurship opportunities.

Please visit Technology Deployment’s website at https://inl.gov/inl-initiatives/technology-deployment for more information on working with INL and the industrial partnering and technology transfer process.

Companies interested in learning more about this licensing opportunity should contact Andrew Rankin at td@inl.gov.

Attachments/Links