MANUFACTURING METHOD OF CERMET ROD OF FUEL ELEMENT CORE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR Russian patent published in 2012 - IPC G21C3/00 

FIELD: power industry.

SUBSTANCE: certain amount of nuclear fuel and matrix material is filled to tube from zirconium alloy. Tube is covered on both sides with cylindrical plugs on end surfaces of which there fixed are caps from zirconium alloy with a layer of paste of metal oxide powder, for example aluminium, which is pre-applied to their internal surfaces. Assembly is subject to hot hydrostatic pressing; tube is cut till metal oxide opens, and tube ends are removed together with plugs. Dimensional machining of cylindrical surface of pressed assembly is performed till nominal dimensions of rod are obtained. The proposed method differs from known methods by the fact that prior to pressing operation the assembly is subject to swaging in inert gas medium under conditions of tube material creeping. Fuel particles cannot penetrate into the tube wall, due to which the required change of tube diameter during the pressing is reduced.

EFFECT: increase in yield ratio of rods at their further machining reduction of contamination of process equipment.