Review of manufacturing technologies for coated accident tolerant fuel cladding

Abstract

This article reviewed the near-term development status of accident tolerant fuel (ATF) cladding to increase the safety of nuclear power generation. The key to near-term development is to secure enhanced accident tolerance beyond the performance of zirconium alloys without compromising the stability of zirconium alloys during normal operation. The near-term techniques proposed in the literature include sputtering, arc ion plating, filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition (FCVAD), pulsed laser deposition (PLD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), spray, 3D laser coating, swaging, and electroplating. Among the manufacturing methods of enhanced ATF cladding, the process methods for near-term development are reviewed in this article on the basis of practical considerations. In addition, the performance of the ATF cladding manufactured using the above process methods are comparatively analyzed, and the oxidation resistance at high temperature is examined. Finally, future research areas such as mass production for several m-long tubes, thickness uniformity on the curved surface of the tube and forming a protective layer on the inner surface of the tube are discussed. So far, Cr coating using PVD is the most practical manufacturing technology for near-term development of ATF cladding. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.