NSUF 24-5070: Neutron Irradiation and PIE of ZrC Coated Surrogate Particle Fuel in IN-Pile Steadystate Extreme Temperature (INSET) Testbed

Tristructural isotropic (TRISO) and other coated particle fuels have been identified as the preferred fuel configuration for several advanced reactor concepts for terrestrial use and space reactors. Although much is known about the performance of traditional TRISO fuel particles, the expanded envelope of operating conditions introduced by some of the new reactor designs require the fabrication of coated particle fuels with different coating configurations (such as the use of ZrC coatings) and performance characterization at temperatures as extreme as 2400 °C. Therefore, there is an important need to study the performance and operating limitations of these new fuel coatings while simultaneously being exposed to high temperatures and neutron irradiation. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), a leading institution on coated particle fuel fabrication, recently developed the IN-pile Steady-state Extreme Temperature (INSET) testbed, which can be used to heat materials above 2000 °C in a nuclear reactor to test both high temperature and radiation effects on materials. In this work, we propose the use of INSET to study the coating performance of ZrC coated surrogate fuel particles exposed to thermal cycling above 2000 °C under neutron irradiation.

Informație Adițională

Cîmp Valoare
Awarded Institution Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Embargo End Date 2026-07-07
Facility Tech Lead Kory Linton, Raymond Cao
Irradiation Facilities Ohio State University Research Reactor
NSUF Call FY 2024 Super RTE Call
PI Brandon Wilson
PIE Facilities Low Activation Materials Design and Analysis Laboratory
Prep Facilities Ohio State University Research Reactor
Project Member Dr. Tyler Gerczak - Oak Ridge National Laboratory (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9967-3579)
Project Member Dr. Nora Dianne Bull Ezell, R&D Engineer - Oak Ridge National Laboratory (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9334-5822)
Project Member Mr. Richard Howard - Oak Ridge National Laboratory (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8521-5427)
Project Member Dr. Eddie Lopez Honorato, R&D Staff - Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Project Member Ms. Emily Hutchins, Graduate Research Assistant - University of Tennessee-Knoxville (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6529-6338)
Project Member Dr. Brandon Wilson, R&D Staff - Oak Ridge National Laboratory (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2065-1647)
Project Type RTE