July 2013

Conference Paper

Recapturing Graphite-Based Fuel Element Technology for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion

By:
Trammell, Michael P; Jolly, Brian C; Miller, James H; Qualls, Arthur L; Harrison, Thomas J
Publication Date:
July 2013
Conference Name:
AIAA Propulsion and Energy Event
Conference Location:
San Jose, California, United States of America

Abstract

ORNL is currently recapturing graphite based fuel forms for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP). This effort involves research and development on materials selection, extrusion, and coating processes to produce fuel elements representative of historical ROVER and NERVA fuel. Initially, lab scale specimens were fabricated using surrogate oxides to develop processing parameters that could be applied to full length NTP fuel elements. Progress toward understanding the effect of these processing parameters on surrogate fuel microstructure is presented.