Claims
- 1. A nuclear fuel element which comprises an elongated composite cladding container having a zirconium alloy tube containing constituents other than zirconium in an amount greater than about 5000 parts per million and a barrier of sponge zirconium metallurgically bonded to the inside surface of the alloy tube, said sponge zirconium barrier being of thickness from about 1% to 30% of the thickness of the said alloy tube, a central core of a body of nuclear fuel material selected from the group consisting of compounds of uranium, plutonium, thorium and mixtures thereof disposed in and partially filling said container so as to leave a gap between said container and said core and an internal cavity at one end of the container an enclosure integrally secured and sealed at each end of said container and a nuclear fuel material retaining means positioned in the cavity.
- 2. The nuclear fuel element of claim 1 which has in addition a cavity inside the fuel element and a nuclear fuel material retaining means comprising a helical member positioned in the cavity.
- 3. A nuclear fuel element of claim 1 in which the nuclear fuel material is comprised of plutonium compounds.
- 4. A nuclear fuel element of claim 1 in which the nuclear fuel material is comprised of uranium dioxide.
- 5. A nuclear fuel element of claim 1 in which the nuclear fuel material is a mixture comprising uranium dioxide and plutonium dioxide.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 727,183 filed Sept. 27, 1976 now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
933500 |
Aug 1961 |
GBX |
1095205 |
Dec 1967 |
GBX |
Non-Patent Literature Citations (3)
Entry |
"Zirconium" 2nd Ed., Butterworth's Scientific Publishing by G. L. Miller, pp. 474-475. |
"Elements of Physical Metallurgy" 2nd Ed., Addison Wesley Publishing Co., A. Guy, pp. 194-195. |
Cladding Materials for Nuclear Reactor Fuels, (1/72), Kangilaski et al. |
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
727183 |
Sep 1976 |
|