Fabrication and preliminary evaluation of metal matrix microencapsulated fuels

The metal matrix microencapsulated (M3) fuel concept for light water reactors (LWRs), consisting of coated fuel particles dispersed in a zirconium metal matrix, is introduced. Fabrication of M3 fuels by hot pressing, hot isostatic pressing, or extrusion methodologies has been demonstrated over the temperature range 800-1050°C. Various types of coated fuel particles with outermost layers of pyrocarbon, SiC, ZrC, and TiN have been incorporated into the zirconium metal matrix. Mechanical particle-particle and chemical particle-matrix interactions have been observed during the preliminary characterization of as-fabricated M3 specimens. Irradiation of three M3 rodlets with surrogate coated fuel particles was carried out at mean rod temperature of 400°C to 4.6 dpa in the zirconium metal matrix. Due to absence of texture in the metal matrix no irradiation growth strain (<0.09%) was detected during the post-irradiation examination.