As it is known, Russia follows the path of nuclear energetics development. At the national level, a concept has been approved which is aimed at the development of light water reactors, creation of fast neutron reactors and closure of the nuclear fuel cycle by uranium and plutonium. Scientists are now working at the creation of alternative fuel, and the next step is moving to complete closure of the nuclear fuel cycle with the application of long-living actinides.

As deputy supervisor of research laboratory №346 Grigoriev Evgeniy said, one of perspective kinds of fuel is nitride nuclear “fuel” which will contain plutonium, as well as americium nitrides and other actinides. Nowadays there is a problem in production of this fuel. Making tablets of necessary density from initial powder is rather labour- and energy-consuming. Quick wear of press tooling and furnace equipment takes place under such process.

A new method of high-voltage of electropulse consolidation of nitride fuel has been worked out in MEPhI interdepartmental laboratory of perspective technologies of new materials’ creation research laboratory №346. Electropulse method is based on electropower impact on powder material of powerful short-term (less than 1 msec) high-voltage electropulse and at the same time mechanical pressure. Material in the influence zone is warmed up to very high temperatures up to plasma condition. Pressure in the influence zone forms required properties of received products.

“Nowadays technology of high-voltage consolidation of powder materials has proved itself in production of hard-alloy and diamond-bearing instruments, making of hard alloys on the basis of tungsten, production of high-efficiency magnetic materials, porous materials, having high open porosity and large surface area”, said E.Grigoriev.

Below: researcher of processes of high-voltage ceramic materials’ sintering, laboratory №346 post-graduate student Yurlova Mariya