1. Hot isostatic compression technology

Interest in very high gas pressures dates back to the 1940s, with the manufacture of synthetic diamonds from graphite. However, the invention of hot isostatic pressing dates back to 1955, when researchers at the Battelle Institute in the USA developed a plant capable of processing nuclear fuel elements at temperatures of up to 830°C and 69 MPa of neutral gas pressure. . The aim was to diffusion weld the cladding to the fuel, in particular to improve thermal contact between the two.

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