About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
MS&T25: Materials Science & Technology
|
| Symposium
|
Metallic Nuclear Fuel Design, Fabrication and Characterization
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| Presentation Title |
Perspectives on Accelerated Fuel Irradiation Testing in Uranium-Zirconium Alloys |
| Author(s) |
Maria A. Okuniewski, Nicole Rodríguez Pérez, Morgan Smith, Lily Alberts, Geoffrey Beausoleil |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Maria A. Okuniewski |
| Abstract Scope |
Various sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs) are currently being developed by private industry and the United States government. Many of these SFRs employ metallic fuels containing uranium-zirconium (U-Zr) alloys, of which have not been qualified to date. To assist in the expedition of fuel qualification, accelerated integral effects experiments were proposed, known as the Fission Accelerated Steady-State Test (FAST), developed by Idaho National Laboratory. The FAST experiments were geometrically scaled to achieve equivalent linear heat generation rates compared to prototypical fast reactor fuel, while radially scaling the geometry to obtain a target burnup more efficiently, thus reducing reactor time. This talk will discuss recent post-irradiation examination results in comparison with historical SFR fuel microstructures for U-Zr alloys, including porosity, phase evolution, and fuel-cladding chemical interactions. The work here will provide a glimpse into the efficacy of FAST irradiations to replicate prototypical SFR irradiations. |