Separate effects irradiation testing of miniature fuel specimens

Summary of the Postirradiation Examination of the First Samples from a MiniFuel Irradiation

“…The design of the MiniFuel irradiation vehicle is documented in the paper by Petrie et al [2] and is illustrated in Figure 1. In this test, small fuel samples are placed in compatible material cups (Mo in the first MiniFuel irradiations) that are then placed inside a capsule containing a relatively massive high atomic number filler material (again Mo in the initial irradiation).…”

“…The positioning of each capsule also served as its identifying mark for PIE (see Table 1). The as-fabricated, as-run irradiation conditions experienced by the MiniFuel were simulated by the simulation methodology as described by Petrie et al [2] and are briefly summarized here. Heat generation rates in the targets were calculated during a HFIR cycle using a coupled Monte Carlo radiation transport code, coupled with a weight window optimizer and a production depletion code.…”

“…The average temperature evaluated by the dilatometry method was 403±5°C. The measured temperature of the SiC can be compared to finite element simulations of the MiniFuel capsules to determine the irradiation temperature of the fuel [2]. Based on these measurements and the simulation, the MF01 fuel was between 410 and 460°C over the last cycle of irradiation.…”

“…The evaluation of new or minimally studied fuel concepts requires accelerated testing to more quickly screen fuel concepts at several different irradiation conditions while leveraging modeling and simulation capabilities to target the experimental evaluations of key fuel properties that have the greatest impact on fuel performance. The MiniFuel irradiation vehicle is designed to rapidly evaluate nuclear fuel material under well-controlled conditions while minimizing the number of variables that occur during irradiation [2]. In MiniFuel irradiations, heating is de-coupled from fission rate so that concepts can be evaluated under a specific condition-temperature, composition, geometry, etc.-while simultaneously varying other conditions.…”

Integrating Advanced Modeling and Accelerated Testing for a Modernized Fuel Qualification Paradigm

“…The accelerated qualification process proposed here is predicated on irradiation developments at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) that enable a high-throughput approach to irradiation testing that can also reach high-burnup targets at much faster rates than traditional testing. [8][9][10][11][12] The approaches are not entirely novel and have been demonstrated in historical experiments and other isolated efforts. 13,14 The difference now is that the value proposition for performing accelerated…”