About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Characterization of Minerals, Metals and Materials 2026 - In-Situ Characterization Techniques
|
| Presentation Title |
Deployment and Testing of a Fiber-based Instrument for In-reactor Thermal Property Measurements at MIT Research Reactor |
| Author(s) |
Zilong Hua, Alex Pomo, Austin Fleming, Weiyue Zhou, Michael Short, Andrii Tuz, David Carpenter, David Hurley |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Zilong Hua |
| Abstract Scope |
The thermal conductivity of nuclear fuels is a critical physical property that is directly related to reactor efficiency and safety. During the reactor operation, neutron irradiation induced microstructure defects significantly reduce the thermal conductivity of fuels. Currently, experimental efforts to investigate this phenomenon is primarily through post-irradiation-examination (PIE). It has been speculated that point defects may anneal or cluster into larger scale defects prior to PIE, making PIE measured properties different from in-situ. In order to fill this knowledge gap, we developed a photothermal-radiometry-based instrument to measure thermal transport property of nuclear fuels in reactor and optimized its design to improve the performance and survivability. Here we present the latest testing results of this instrument at MIT research reactor. The measurement approach is expected to work universally; with proper modifications on the instrument design, it is expected that this work will enable in-reactor thermal conductivity in other testing reactors. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Characterization, Nuclear Materials, Mechanical Properties |