NSUF 24-5022: Advanced hydride moderator irradiations for microreactor and space nuclear reactor deployment

With the recent signing of Space Policy Directive-6, a US policy goal for micro nuclear reactor and space reactor systems has been designing these systems to utilize low-enriched uranium (<20% U-235) nuclear fuel (2). However, the use of LEU, as opposed to highly enriched uranium (HEU) is accompanied by an increase in fuel mass to achieve criticality (3). One way in which the overall mass of fuel could be reduced is using moderators, which efficiently thermalize neutrons.

Additional Info

Field	Value
Award Announced Date	2024-04-16T15:37:12.233
Awarded Institution	Los Alamos National Laboratory
Facility Tech Lead	Kory Linton
Irradiation Facility
PI	Aditya Shivprasad
PI Email	[email protected]
Project Type	CINR
RTE Number	None