Patent Number: 048266302
Section: abstract

Annular pellets of burnable poison specifically boron carbide, B.sub.4 C, in a matrix of a refractory material, specifically aluminum oxide, Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, are produced. The pellets are of small wall thickness. Powders of the Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 and the B.sub.4 C are milled in a ball mill in water in which a wetting agent, a surfactant and a deflocculant are included to produce a slurry. Organic binders and plasticizers are added. Then the slurry is spray dried in a centrifugal separator. The resulting powder is poured into a mold and a turbular green body is formed by isostatic pressure. The tube may be sintered to size as a whole and then cut into lengths; i.e., pellets, or the green body may be cut into green-body pellets which are then sintered.