European Fuel Fabrication Capabilities FRM II conversion status

by Dr Jérôme Allenou (Framatome CERCA Division)

Monday 1 Jul 2024, 14:30 → 15:30 Europe/Berlin

PH HS 3 (Physics Department)

The nuclear research reactor Forschungs-Neutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II), operated by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in Germany, provides intense thermal neutron beams for the international scientific community. The current FRM II fuel is an assembly of fuel plates composed of dispersed U3Si2 powder with an enrichment up to 93 % U5, dispersed in Al powder and cladded with an Al alloy.
Within the international efforts to minimize the use of HEU (Highly Enriched Uranium), the FRM II aims to convert its compact core to LEU (Low Enriched Uranium), i.e. a fuel with an enrichment lower than 20 % U5. The most promising fuel candidate is the monolithic U-10Mo with Zr coating and Al-based cladding.

The presentation deals with the FRM II conversion status, including the U-10Mo monolithic fuel manufacturing development and industrialization. The European fuel fabrication capabilities upgrade is presented.