Summary of Irradiation Tests of Mixed-Oxide Fuel Prepared with Weapons-Derived Plutonium

Abstract

Mixed oxide (MOX) test capsules prepared with weapons-derived plutonium have been irradiated to a burnup of 50 GWd/MT. The MOX fuel was fabricated at Los Alamos National Laboratory by a master-mix process and irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Previous withdrawals of the same fuel have occurred at 9, 21, 30, and 50 GWd/MT. Oak Ridge National Laboratory managed this test series for the Department of Energy's Fissile Materials Disposition Program (FMDP). This paper describes the preparation of the MOX fuel, the equipment desig, and the irradiation history of the test capsules and discusses the significance of the more important observations of the post-irradiation examinations (PIEs). Fuel performance has been excellent and consistent with code predictions and with existing U.S. and Europen experience.