Analytical determination of thermal conductivity of W–UO2 and W–UN CERMET nuclear fuels

The thermal conductivity of tungsten based CERMET fuels containing UO2 and UN fuel particles are determined as a function of particle geometry, stabilizer fraction and fuel-volume fraction, by using a combination of an analytical approach and experimental data collected from literature. Thermal conductivity is estimated using the Bruggeman–Fricke model. This study demonstrates that thermal conductivities of various CERMET fuels can be analytically predicted to values that are very close to the experimentally determined ones.