TiO2 doped UO2 fuels sintered by spark plasma sintering

UO2 fuels doped with oxide additives Cr2O3 and TiO2 display larger grain size, improving fission product retention capability and thus accident tolerance. Spark plasma sintering (SPS) was applied to consolidate TiO2-doped UO2 fuel pellets with 0.5 wt % dopant concentration, above its solubility, in order to induce eutectic phase formation and promote sintering kinetics. The grain size can reach 80 μm by sintering at 1700 °C for 20 min, and liquid U-Ti-O eutectic phase occurs at the triple junction of grain boundaries and significantly improves grain growth during sintering. The oxide additive also impedes the reduction of the initial hyperstoichiometric fuel powders to more stoichiometric fuel pellets upon SPS process. Thermal-mechanical properties of the sintered doped fuel pellets including thermal conductivity and hardness are measured and compared with undoped fuel pellets. The enlarged grain size (80 μm) and densification within short sintering duration highlight the immense possibility of SPS in fabricating large grained UO2 fuel pellets to improve fuel performance.