Report on the Assessment of Ion Irradiations on High Entropy Alloys
Idaho National Laboratory (INL) initiated a joint international effort with the Czech Republic to explore the feasibility of manufacturing High Entropy Alloys for high-temperature nuclear applications using Additive Manufacturing. This effort was funded at INL by the United States Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy under the Advanced Reactor Technologies and Advanced Materials and […]
Final report on assessment of molten salt corrosion testing of unirradiated and ion irradiated advanced manufactured high entropy alloys
Generation IV reactors and future fusion reactor designs have led to more demanding materials performance requirements due to their increased operating temperatures, corrosive coolants, and increased radiation doses compared to the current light-water reactor fleet. Among the innovative nuclear technologies under development, molten salt reactors stand out for their potential to offer superior fuel utilization, […]
Accelerated irradiation testing and post-irradiation characterization: U.S.-based capabilities for advanced nuclear systems and radioisotope production
Irradiation experiments and post-irradiation examinations (PIE)—together referred to as “Irradiation Testing” IRT—are prerequisites for nuclear fuel and material qualification for the deployment of new and advanced reactors, as well as radioisotope production, thereby ensuring regulatory compliance. Qualified research and test reactors (RTRs) and testing facilities are essential to enable IRT to verify performance and safety […]
An evaluation and qualification of U.S.-based research reactors for irradiation and post-irradiation capabilities supporting advanced nuclear systems
Irradiation experiments are a prerequisite for evaluating nuclear reactor system designs, analyzing the performance of these systems, and obtaining licenses. Likewise, irradiation facilities are necessary for producing the radioisotopes used in industrial and medical applications. Recent developments in modeling and simulation (M&S) capabilities and advancements in computational resources have further enabled the design of irradiation […]
Preliminary results of molten salt corrosion of high entropy alloys manufactured at INL
Materials development is needed to support the design and deployment of advanced nuclear reactors that will operate at higher temperatures and in harsher environments than the current light water reactor fleet. High entropy alloys have been identified as a class of alloy that could address the needs of advanced reactors, such as the molten salt […]
Fusion Modeling & Simulation Workshop Outcomes
A workshop was held on 10/04/2022 gathering Idaho National Laboratory (INL) experts to develop a roadmap for future fusion-related modeling & simulation (M&S) activities. A total of 43 participants, (34 in-person and 9 remote) contributed to the workshop. After a plenary session with presentations from the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) and the Institutional Planning […]
In Cell Thermal Creep Frames for Demonstration Project Preparations
The thrust of advanced nuclear reactor demonstrations demands the accelerated qualification of in-core materials to enable licensing processes and developing the performance data. Due to the high-operating temperatures of such reactors, long-term mechanical behavior under constant load is essential to determine the geometrical and mechanical integrity of in-core components during operation and off-normal conditions. Therefore, […]
In-Cell Thermal Creep Frame Capability: Out-of-Cell Construction and Subsized Sample Testing
This report describes the activities related to the construction of an in-cell thermal creep test facility for small-scale specimens in the irradiation-assisted stress-corrosion cracking (IASCC) hotcell located at the Fuels and Applied Science Building (FASB) at INL. The whole project includes three stages: (i) conceptual design; (ii) out-of-cell demonstration tests; and (iii) in-cell demonstration testing. […]