In studies of the fabrication of fuel subassemblies for the supercritical-water reactor, the limited ductility of stainless steel-UO₂ fuel sheet made the fabrication of corrugated-flat-plate-type subassemblies impractical. A fabricable MTR-type assembly, 5/8 in. square and 30 in. long, was developed. Methods for edge cladding fuel sheet were developed and a brazing alloy, GE-75, was found to be corrosion resistant in supercritical water.

Abstract: Chemical and physical data on twenty binary uranium compounds that may prove suitable for refractory nuclear fuels were assembled. The compounds were those with aluminum, boron, carbon, iron, nickel, nitrogen, silicon, or sulfur. Too little is known at this time about the compounds to evaluate any of them for fuel. The program is being extended in an effort to provide the needed data.