November 5
@
12:00 PM
–
1:00 PM
NEEP Seminar Series
Thursdays
12:00 – 1:00 PM
106 Engineering Research Building
Please contact office@neep.wisc.edu for assistance with remote participation.
Microanalysis of TRISO Fuel: Understanding Complex Coated Particle Behaviors and Their Impact on Fuel Performance
The US Department of Energy has pursued tristructural isotropic (TRISO) fuel qualification for the last several decades, collecting a substantial volume of fuel performance data. The effort has encompassed fuel fabrication, irradiation testing under a wide range of operating conditions, extensive post-irradiation examination, and high-temperature severe accident tests. Microanalysis techniques spanning nanometer to millimeter length scales have been employed at Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and partner universities to characterize the irradiated fuel. These efforts have provided insight into in-pile behaviors, including kernel and coating morphology evolution, coating layer interactions, microstructure changes in response to radiation, and fission product migration within the fuel kernel and through the coating layers. The resulting data inform our understanding of particle failure mechanisms and fission product transport, contributing to improved computational models of coated particle behavior. This presentation will explore key analysis techniques and observations of physical phenomena that impact particle performance, highlighting how these results strengthen the TRISO fuel qualification technical basis.
Dr. Paul Demkowicz is a Directorate Fellow in Nuclear Science and Technology at the Idaho National Laboratory with 25 years of experience studying nuclear fuels. His current focus is on the development and characterization of fuels for advanced nuclear reactors, including irradiation testing and post-irradiation examination. Dr. Demkowicz leads the US Department of Energy tristructural isotropic (TRISO) fuel qualification program, which has studied the irradiation performance of TRISO coated particle fuel for over two decades. The results of this ongoing effort have received international attention for the noteworthy technical successes and demonstration of superb fuel performance under extreme conditions.