The past, present, and future of nuclear fuel

Andersson, David A.; Stanek, Christopher R.; Matthews, Christopher; Uberuaga, Blas P.

doi:10.1557/s43577-023-00631-3

Title: The past, present, and future of nuclear fuel

Journal Article · 06 December 2023 · MRS Bulletin

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/s43577-023-00631-3 · OSTI ID:2228781

^[1]; Stanek, Christopher R. ^[1];

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Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

New reactor concepts have motivated study of a variety of nuclear fuel types. Most nuclear fuels have their origins dating back to the very beginnings of nuclear materials. We survey the most prevalent types of nuclear fuels and their properties and give some historical context as to their development. We end with our perspective on what the next 50 years of nuclear fuel research might lead to. In our opinion, while optimized microstructures and chemistries are certainly on the horizon, the biggest developments will be the continued integration of modeling and simulation with experiments to extract the greatest amount of energy possible from existing fuel candidates in a safe and economical way.

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Research Organization:: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)

Grant/Contract Number:: 89233218CNA000001

OSTI ID:: 2228781

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2318955

Report Number(s):: LA-UR-23-31685; TRN: US2409577

Journal Information:: MRS Bulletin, Vol. 48, Issue 11; ISSN 0883-7694

Publisher:: Materials Research SocietyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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