3. Irradiation behavior of refractory ceramic fuels

3.1 Homogeneous transmutation fuels

Research on homogeneous transmutation fuels is focused on assessing the possible consequences of the presence of minor actinides on the physico-chemical properties and behavior of the fuel under irradiation (redistribution of fissile species within the fuel, helium production, volume swelling, gaseous release, etc.). The main challenge is to ensure that low levels of minor actinides do not significantly alter the overall behavior of the fuel, so as to benefit from the extensive experience gained with RNR-Na fuels.