The Research Committee on Fuel in Next Century was established in the Atomic Energy Society of Japan at April, 1993. A total of 12 meetings has been held in the last two years to discuss the development of nuclear fuels focusing on the plutonium utilization and the burn-up extension. The discussions in these meetings are summarized in this report. The outline of core and nuclear fuel designs on both BWR and PWR for the extended burn-up is introduced together with the plans of burn-up extension.

more »

... Two typical phenomena under irradiation of the LWR fuels at high burn-up are discussed, which are the rim formation and the cladding corrosion. The irradiation behavior of Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuels in LWR is also discussed. Both cladding and fuel pellet have been developed for the burn-up extension, and the current status is shown here. A brief review of physical properties of MOX fuel is also made. The review also includes the fabrication technology of MOX fuel for thermal reactor in countries such as France, Belgium, United Kingdom and Germany.