Status of Irradiation Testing and PIE of MOX (Pu-Containing) Fuel

Abstract

This paper describes AECL's mixed oxide (MOX) fuel-irradiation and post-irradiation examination (PIE) program. Post-irradiation examination results of two major irradiation experiments involving several (U, Pu)02 fuel bundles are highlighted. One experiment involved bundles irradiated to burnups ranging from 400 to 1200 MWh/kgHE in the Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD) reactor. The other experiment consisted of several (U, Pu)O, bundles irradiated to burnups of up to 500 MWh/kgHE in the National Research Universal (NRU)reactor. Results of these experiments demonstrate the excellent performance of CANDU MOX fuel. This paper also outlines the status of current MOX fuel irradiation tests, including the irradiation of various (U, Pu)02 and (Th, Pu)02 bundles. The strategic importance of MOX fuel to CANDU fuel-cycle flexibility is discussed.