Patent ID: 9224506
Filing Date: 2015-12-29
Classification: C04B,G21C,Y02E

Abstract:
1. Method of manufacturing nuclear elements from ceramic balls comprising: a) placing ceramic nuclear fuel balls in a container made from ultra-porous material in order to form a stack of nuclear fuel balls, b) performing densification of the stack of nuclear fuel balls by chemical vapour infiltration of at least one chemical species, wherein performing densification comprises passing the at least one chemical species in vapor form by three-dimensional diffusion through the bulk of the ultra-porous material, and wherein the chemical vapour infiltration is three-dimensional, such that the entire surface of the stack of nuclear balls is evenly exposed to the chemical species and such that a simultaneous infiltration takes place in the whole stack of nuclear balls, and c) removing the container; wherein the nuclear fuel element thus produced has a composite structure comprising a stack of nuclear fuel balls, such that the interstitial space between the nuclear fuel balls is at least partially filled with a matrix formed by said at least one chemical species, so that the nuclear fuel balls are held together by the matrix as a single solid unit and the compactness of the nuclear fuel element is of at least 90%.