The Challenges of Tristructural Isotropic Fuels in Canada

Abstract

Tristructural isotropic fuel is a nuclear fuel design consisting of a kernel of fissile/fertile material encapsulated with three layers of isotropic materials. The fuel design provides a high tolerance to temperature and pressure making it a safe fuel type for high temperature reactors and other advanced reactors. However, the deployment of TRISO fuel designs in Canada must reconcile both technological and regulatory challenges before it may be successfully deployed. These challenges include further fuel developments for optimization, risk uncertainty, proper waste management processes, and transportation challenges. This paper examines what those challenges are and how Canada must proceed in order to effectively deploy this fuel type in the future.