TRISO fuel

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Tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuel is a form of micro-particle nuclear fuel. Each particle consists of a spherical kernel of uranium dioxide (UO2) or other ceramic fuel, coated with four additional ceramic layers through chemical vapor deposition. TRISO fuel particles are designed not to crack from thermal or mechanical stresses at temperatures below 1600 °C, and therefore can contain radioactive fission products even during severe accidents. Uniform spherical fuel kernels are created through the sol–gel process. Each particle is then coated in a buffer layer made of porous carbon that absorbs fission product recoils, a dense inner layer of protective pyrolytic carbon (PyC), a strong ceramic layer of silicon carbide (SiC) to retain fission products at elevated temperatures and to give the TRISO particle more structural integrity, and a dense outer layer of PyC. The finished TRISO particles are then embedded into a graphite matrix to form spherical or cylindrical fuel elements. Historically...

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