Generation IV Reactor Safety and Materials Research by the Institute for Energy and Transport at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre

Nuclear energy is presently the single major low-carbon electricity source in Europe and is overall expected to maintain (perhaps eventually even increase) its current installed power from now to 2045. Long-term operation (LTO) is a reality in essentially all nuclear European countries, even when planning to phase out. New builds are planned. Moreover, several European countries, including non-nuclear or phasing out ones, have interests in next generation nuclear systems. In this framework, materials and material science play a crucial role towards safer, more efficient, more economical and overall more sustainable nuclear energy. This paper proposes a research agenda that combines modern digital technologies with materials science practices to pursue a change of paradigm that promotes innovation, equally serving the different nuclear energy interests and positions throughout Europe. This paper chooses to overview structural and fuel materials used in current generation reactors, as well as their wider spectrum for next generation reactors, summarising the relevant issues. Next, it describes the materials science approaches that are common to any nuclear materials (including classes that are not addressed here, such as concrete, polymers and functional materials), identifying for each of them a research agenda goal. It is concluded that among these goals are the development of structured materials qualification test-beds and materials acceleration platforms (MAPs) for materials that operate under harsh conditions. Another goal is the development of multi-parameter-based approaches for materials health monitoring based on different non-destructive examination and testing (NDE&T) techniques. Hybrid models that suitably combine physics-based and data-driven approaches for materials behaviour prediction can valuably support these developments, together with the creation and population of a centralised, “smart” database for nuclear materials.

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“…An interesting overview on European Commission research on GenIV safety and materials is provided in [373].…”

Section: Annex 3-pathways To Nuclear Materials Improvement For Next G...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Materials for Sustainable Nuclear Energy: A European Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda for All Reactor Generations

Malerba

Mazouzi²,

Bertolus

et al. 2022

Energies

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“…Actinide carbides are potential candidates both as materials for improving the safety of generation IV fast nuclear reactors 1 , 2 , and as target for the production of second generation Isotope Separation On Line facilities (ISOL) 3 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphological and functional effects of graphene on the synthesis of uranium carbide for isotopes production targets

Biasetto

Corradetti

Carturan

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

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The development of tailored targets for the production of radioactive isotopes represents an active field in nuclear research. Radioactive beams find applications in nuclear medicine, in astrophysics, matter physics and materials science. In this work, we study the use of graphene both as carbon source for UO2 carbothermal reduction to produce UCx targets, and also as functional properties booster. At fixed composition, the UCx target grain size, porosity and thermal conductivity represent the three main points that affect the target production efficiency. UCx was synthesized using both graphite and graphene as the source of carbon and the target properties in terms of composition, grain size, porosity, thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity were studied. The main output of this work is related to the remarkable enhancement achieved in thermal conductivity, which can profitably improve thermal dissipation during operational stages of UCx targets.

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“…Even though irradiation experiments confirmed the feasibility of transmutation through the use of AmBB, consequent work is still needed before an actual industrial deployment. , In particular, the determination and quantification of elemental mechanisms during solid solution formation and the stability of the latter against α self-irradiation must be explored in detail.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Insight into Self-Irradiation Effects on Local and Long-Range Structure of Uranium–Americium Mixed Oxides (through XAS and XRD)

et al. 2014

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Uranium-americium mixed oxides could be used as transmutation targets to lower Am inventory in spent nuclear fuels. Due to (241)Am activity, these materials are subjected to α-self-irradiation which provokes crystallographic disorder. Previous studies on U-Am mixed oxides gave first insight into α-radiation tolerance of these compounds, but have never been carried out for more than a year, whereas these compounds might be stored up to a few years between fabrication and irradiation. In this work, we study effects of self-irradiation on the structure of U(1-x)Am(x)O(2±δ) solid solutions (x = 0.15 and 0.20) aged 3 to 4 years. Especially, X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy are combined to observe these effects from both long-range and local perspectives. Results show that the fluorite-type structure of U-Am mixed oxides withstands (241)Am α-irradiation without major damage. Despite the increase of interatomic distances and crystallographic disorder observed during the first months of storage, the present results show that a steady state is then reached. Thus, no detrimental factors have been identified in this study in terms of structural damage for several-year storage of U(1-x)Am(x)O(2±δ) pellets before irradiation. Furthermore, comparison between long-range and local evolution suggests that α-self-irradiation-induced defects are mainly located in low-ordered domains. Based on literature data and present results, the steady state appears related to the equilibrium between radioinduced defect formation and material self-healing.

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Generation IV Reactor Safety and Materials Research by the Institute for Energy and Transport at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre

Cited by 14 publications

References 10 publications

Materials for Sustainable Nuclear Energy: A European Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda for All Reactor Generations

Materials for Sustainable Nuclear Energy: A European Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda for All Reactor Generations

Morphological and functional effects of graphene on the synthesis of uranium carbide for isotopes production targets

New Insight into Self-Irradiation Effects on Local and Long-Range Structure of Uranium–Americium Mixed Oxides (through XAS and XRD)

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