高 明1 ，卢振明2，3 ，芦安源3 ，于德水1 ，赵永前1 ，高 天3 ，刘 兵2
1. 中核北方核燃料元件有限公司，内蒙古 包头 014035；2. 清华大学 核能与新能源技术研究院，北京 100084；3. 武汉科技大学 化学与化工学院，湖北省煤转化与新型碳材料重点实验室，湖北 武汉430081
高明，卢振明，芦安源，等. 高温气冷堆核燃料穿衣颗粒制备技术［J］. 中国粉体技术，2025，31（5）：1-11.
GAO Ming， LU Zhenming， LU Anyuan， et al. Preparation technology of coated particles for nuclear fuel in high-temperature gas-cooled reactors［J］. China Powder Science and Technology，2025，31（5）：1−11.
DOI：10.13732/j.issn.1008-5548.2025.05.007
收稿日期：2024-11-29，修回日期：2025-05-21，上线日期：2025-06-27。
基金项目：国家自然科学基金项目，编号：22403072；国家科技重大专项项目，编号：ZX06901。
第一作者简介：高明（1983—），男，高级工程师，硕士，研究方向为高温气冷堆球形燃料元件制造。E-mail：gwkj-jsk@cnnfc202. com。
通信作者简介：卢振明（1975—），男，教授，博士，硕士生导师，研究方向为核燃料材料及球形颗粒制备。E-mail：luzhenming@wust. edu. cn。
摘要：【目的】 综述高温气冷堆核燃料穿衣颗粒制备技术，分析穿衣技术的未来发展方向，为工程项目技术路线决策提供依据。【研究现状】 综述穿衣颗粒结构及穿衣粉制备、穿衣、干燥、分选等穿衣颗粒生产工艺过程；概括我国穿衣技术的发展历程，高温气冷堆核燃料穿衣技术的不断创新更迭的历程与反应堆的发展一脉相承，经历10 MW实验堆的实验线，200 MW示范工程的商业示范线和600 MW商业堆及未来发展在建的商业线3个重要阶段；穿衣系统作为核燃料生产的核心设备，经过数代产品的迭代，在设备结构、自动化程度、产能、产品质量等方面逐步改善与提升；在研发过程中，新的研究方法和手段的应用能够有效促进设备的优化设计和工艺参数的最佳匹配。【结论与展望】提出随着核能的高速发展及对核安全要求的提高，核燃料穿衣技术在未来将会有更广阔的需求空间；认为穿衣技术将会随着理论研究的深入、自动化程度的提高和人工智能的引入发生多维度的技术升级，向更高效、更自动、更智能方向迈进。
关键词：高温气冷堆；球形核燃料元件；穿衣技术；穿衣颗粒
Significance The fuel elements used in pebble-bed high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (PB-HTRs) are graphite spheres containing thousands of Tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) coated particles, which are fabricated through quasi-isostatic pressing. The coating layer of the coated particles serves as the first barrier to guarantee reactor safety. Before fuel element compression, a compression buffer layer, composed of the same material as the matrix, is wrapped around the surface of the coated particles. This layer directly and effectively mitigates damage to the coating layer during the element production process, a step known as the overcoating process.
Progress China’s high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTRs) have evolved over more than four decades, from the 10 MW high-temperature gas-cooled reactor-test module (HTR-10) to the 200 MW high-temperature gas-cooled reactor pebble-bed module (HTR-PM). Correspondingly, overcoating technologies, a crucial part of nuclear fuel production, have progressed through multiple stages: basic research-level, laboratory-scale, pilot-scale, commercial demonstration, and commercialization. In terms of equipment structure, various types of overcoating equipment have been developed, including laboratory-scale onion-shaped and truncated-cone-shaped types, a meshed drum-type for commercial demonstration, and non-porous-drum and planetary types for large-scale commercial applications. The single-batch capacity has increased significantly, from 1 kgU to tens of kilograms. Meanwhile, the automation level, safety, and environmental friendliness of the equipment have been progressively improved while ensuring high product yield and quality. Advanced research methods, such as online analysis of particle shape and size, and numerical simulation, are used in equipment design, development, and process optimization, effectively accelerating progress and enhancing the effectiveness of research and development. So far, China's nuclear fuel overcoating technology has surpassed its international counterparts in productivity, product quality, and equipment automation and advancement through decades of dedicated efforts by several generations of R&D personnel.
Prospects The evolution and advancement of nuclear fuel preparation technology, along with the scientific challenges in engineering, will garner increasing attention and attract professionals from diverse research domains into this field. Disciplines and research fields, including materials science, particle kinetic theory, fluid mechanics, and numerical simulation, will converge and give rise to new interdisciplinary directions in the study of the overcoating process. Theoretical achievements will also lead to novel engineering concepts, promoting innovation and upgrading of overcoating equipment. With the widespread adoption of computer technology, advancements in image technology, enhanced precision and capabilities of detection instruments, and ongoing process refinement and optimization, process control technology will be extensively applied to the overcoating process. This will significantly enhance the automation level of overcoating equipment. Artificial intelligence (AI) is also set to be deeply integrated into the industrial production of overcoating particles. By combining human expertise and the computer's analytical capabilities, AI will facilitate decision-making and task execution through big data analysis. The immediate result of incorporating AI lies in the optimization of process parameters, thereby achieving optimal product quality and stability.
Conclusions With intensified theoretical research, improved automation, and the integration of artificial intelligence, overcoating technology will undergo multidimensional technological transformations and evolve towards a more efficient, automated, and intelligent direction. TRISO-coated particles have played a pivotal role in ensuring the inherent safety of HTRs, making their structure highly favored for various types of nuclear reactors. With the rapid development of HTRs and increasing safety demands for reactors, the demand for accident-tolerant nuclear fuel incorporating TRISO particles will surge substantially. Consequently, overcoating technology is poised to have broader application prospects.
Keywords：high-temperature gas-cooled reactor; spherical nuclear fuel element; overcoating technology; overcoating particle
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