TRISO CVD Coater

Tri-Structural Isotropic (TRISO) nuclear fuel is a coated particle fuel form consisting of a fissile uranium dioxide core surrounded by layers of pyrolytic carbon and silicon carbide.

This fuel is intended for use in High-Temperature Reactors (HTRs), a reactor design operating at a temperature well in excess of current reactor designs, up to 1000°C as opposed to 600°C.

Fabrication of TRISO fuel has historically been accomplished by use of a Fluidised-Bed Chemical Vapour Deposition coater (FBCVD) which uses chemical reactions from appropriate precursor reagents to produce the protective layers surrounding the uranium dioxide core of the particle.

A system to manufacture these coated particles will allow study of these fuel forms, allowing the effects of process variables on the properties of the resulting particles.

The supplied system must be capable of depositing carbon and silicon carbide layers on microspheres, approximately 0.5 mm in diameter, and ensure that any reaction products in the exhaust gas stream are rendered safe before discharge.

The system must also be capable of producing a fluidised bed from the initial uranium dioxide kernels, which have a density of up to 10.97 g/cm3.

Additionally due to the radioactive nature of the work the system must be designed such that no radioactive material can be lost during loading, deposition, and unloading.