Nuclear reactor technology research dwindled away when nuclear power fell out of favor several decades ago. But the realization that anti-science activism against nuclear power has led to increased fossil fuel usage, emissions and global warming has meant renewed interest in fission-based energy - and that means knowledge gained in past research is relevant again.
Researchers at DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, working with Idaho National Laboratory, revived work to fabricate high-quality coated-particle fuel for high-temperature gas reactors (HTGRs).
The ORNL researchers coated uranium-based fuel kernels with carbon and silicon carbide, relying in part on techniques developed years ago by scientists, many of who have long since retired. "The processes we based on their research and records worked perfectly," says ORNL researcher Rick Lowden.
After setting a new record for HTGR fuel performance, the INL and ORNL team recently received an inaugural Gordon Battelle Prize for re-establishing the coated particle fuel fabrication technology that goes back to the First Nuclear Era.