Abstract Field assisted sintering techniques (FASTs) are currently being presented as an attractive alternative to the energy and time intensive fabrication routes employed for UO 2 and MOx nuclear fuel manufacture. Current‐rate controlled flash sintering (CR‐FS) is a novel variant of typical flash sintering (FS) methods that permits heightened sample temperature control during field application, yet the technique has not been extensively trialled on oxide fuel materials, and the impact on resultant pellet properties is not fully understood. In this study, CR‐FS has been employed to consolidate cylindrical UO 2 towards the requirements of existing fuel specifications, refining an optimised CR‐FS process alongside. An average pellet density 96.0 0.3% TD was observed, alongside an average grain size of 3.98 0.82 and a final O/M ratio of 2.033 0.002. Pellet heterogeneity in the radial direction has been observed and related to intrinsic field and thermal effects.
Morgan et al. (Thu,) studied this question.