A novel approach to fabricating fuel compacts for the next generation nuclear plant (NGNP)

The next generation nuclear plant (NGNP) is a combined complex of a very high temperature reactor (VHTR) and hydrogen production facility. The VHTR can have a prismatic or pebble bed design and is powered by TRISO fuel in the form of a fuel compact (prismatic) or pebble (pebble bed). The US is scheduled to build a demonstration VHTR at the Idaho National Laboratory site by 2020. The first step toward building of this facility is development and qualification of the fuel for the reactor. This paper summarizes the research and development efforts performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) toward development of a qualified fuel compact for a VHTR.