URANIA-RARE EARTH COMPOSITION AND ARTICLES FORMED THEREFROM

摘要

A urania rare-earth element composition is disclosed which utilizes urania as a primary component and has sufficient rare earth element added thereto to render the urania electrically conductive at room temperature. The inventive composition can be shaped and used to form electrical resistive heating elements for use in sintering furnaces, particularly those requiring high temperatures of about 2,000.degree.C. In addition, the addition of a rare earth element to urania lowers the thermal conductivity of the urania such that the composition can be used to fabricate a refractory lining for a furnace. Such a lining has the advantage of being resistive to high oxygen potential atmospheres at temperatures of about 2,000.degree.C. Consequently, a furnace utilizing the urania-rare earth element composition for the heating elements and refractory linings can operate at high temperatures and high oxygen potential atmospheres, the optimum conditions for maximizing the rate of production for sintering nuclear fuel pellets.