Granulation characteristics confirmation test of additive-free dry granulation technology for fast reactor fuel fabrication

Segawa, Tomoomi ; Kawaguchi, Koichi  ; Ishii, Katsunori ; Nishina, Masahiro; Makino, Takayoshi ; Natori, Yuri*; Ikemoto, Norihiro*; Yonehara, Kazuo*; Tatenuma, Katsuyoshi*

Japan Atomic Energy Agency has researched and developed a simplified MOX pellet fabrication process. the flowability of MOX powder is improved by a tumbling granulation method using water as a binder. However, in this granulation method, improvement of the production capacity under criticality control for wet nuclear material is an issue. In recent years, an additive-free dry granulation technology has proposed as a novel granulation method for producing tritium breeding LiO spheres for nuclear fusion reactor. In this study, to confirm the applicability of this method to the MOX fuel fabrication process, CeO powder was used as a simulated material of MOX powder as a basic test for mechanization, and the influence of mechanical external force on granulation was confirmed and evaluated. As a result of the test, good granulation property was obtained by applying a mechanical external force of vertical vibration, and it was possible to obtain the prospect of mechanization of the dry granulation process.