Categorical Exclusion Determination
Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance
March 9, 2017
Estimated Read Time min
Several key issues associated with fuel performance of U3Si2 need to be addressed before it can be qualified and licensed as a nuclear fuel for commercial reactors. The purpose of the proposed action is to investigate the fuel clad chemical interaction behavior of U3Si2 and various candidate cladding materials to multiple burnups (2 rodlets). This drop-in test experiment will test U3Si2-SiC U3Si2-FeCrAl and U3Si2-Zr diffusion couples to evaluate pellet cladding interaction of U3Si2 pellets coupled with plates of cladding samples.