Abstract—
Zr1 – хUхN nitrides have been synthesized via nitridation of solid solutions of uranium in zirconium. High-temperature saturation of the solid solutions with nitrogen has been shown to yield Zr1 – хUхN ceramics uranium-enriched in their central part. We have presented the concept of a new type of fuel, based on Zr1 – хUхN, for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. Nuclear calculations of a reactor core demonstrate the feasibility of reaching the critical mass at uranium contents of 10 and 20 wt %. The core size of a conceptual reactor has been determined. We have performed thermophysical calculations of the reactor core and demonstrated the feasibility of obtaining high-grade heat.
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This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project no. 20-13-00392 (federal state budget funded science institution Baikov Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science, Russian Academy of Sciences).
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Shornikov, D.P., Kovalev, I.A., Tenishev, A.V. et al. Specific Features of Nuclear and Thermophysical Calculations of (Zr,U)N Nuclear Fuel Prepared Using an Oxidation-Assisted Engineering Approach. Inorg Mater 58, 578–586 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0020168522050090
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0020168522050090