| Abstract Scope |
The Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) program, under the US Department of Energy, is in the process of qualifying tristructural isotropic (TRISO)-coated particle fuel with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to support design, construction, and operation of high-temperature reactors. TRISO fuel particles are < 1 mm in diameter and consist of a central fuel kernel made of a heterogeneous mixture of uranium oxide and uranium carbide that is coated in layers of pyrocarbon and SiC. This program encompasses all phases of TRISO fuel production, irradiation and post-irradiation examinations, and predictive fuel performance modeling and fission product transport. Each component of the TRISO fuel system serves a purpose. Using data acquired from post-irradiation microscopy, gamma-ray spectroscopy, and heating tests, it will be discussed how each material component of the TRISO fuel system functions to impart chemical stability, retain fission products, and maintain coating integrity under accident scenarios. |