NSUF Article
NSUF awards 33 Rapid Turnaround Experiments
The
U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy awarded 33 Nuclear Science
User Facilities (NSUF) Rapid Turnaround Experiment (RTE) projects May 28 to
support nuclear science and technology. NSUF provides access to world-class
capabilities at no cost to researchers. This is the second set of RTE awards
for fiscal year 2024.
33
new RTE
projects, totaling approximately $1.9 million, were awarded in this call,
bringing the total to roughly $3.37 million for fiscal year 2024. The
second call awards went to 19 principal investigators
from 13 universities, two principal investigators from industry, and 12 scientists
from six
national laboratories.
The awarded RTE projects cover a breadth of novel approaches to gain
fundamental scientific understanding of nuclear materials under irradiation. Many
projects focus on gaining insights into the irradiation performance of
candidate materials for advanced nuclear reactors. The projects will
characterize thermal physical properties, microstructural evolution, mechanical
properties and defect formation in materials when subjected to variations in radiation
damage, temperature, alloying element, heat treatment, straining and manufacturing
methods. Other projects in this call concentrate on specialized methods to
enable advanced in situ irradiation,
thermal/mechanical testing and characterization, high-precision measurements,
and multi-scale 3D imaging to reveal new insights into irradiated materials.
The awarded projects encompass a diverse range of nuclear fuels and materials
research applying advanced experimental and computational methods. Key
materials being studied include ferritic-martensitic steels, stainless steel, nickel
alloys, high entropy alloys, oxide dispersion-strengthened alloys, semiconductor
composites, uranium-based metallic fuels and ceramic composite fuels. The
structural materials were produced by both conventional and advanced
manufacturing techniques.
Researchers
can use the fundamental understanding of these effects together with advanced
modeling to develop more radiation-tolerant alloys and fuels, for example,
using novel alloying design or techniques like additive manufacturing to
enhance irradiation tolerance. The work enables the development of optimized
fuels and structural materials for safe and efficient deployment of advanced
nuclear reactors. The knowledge will accelerate nuclear materials development
and qualification and support ongoing U.S. efforts to deploy next-generation
fission energy systems.
FY24 Second RTE Call Awards
PI Name |
Institution |
Title |
|
Ramprashad Prabhakaran |
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory |
APT study of HT-9 to evaluate the effect of neutron
irradiation temperature, alloying elements and heat treatment |
|
James Edgar |
Kansas State University |
Electron spin properties of boron vacancies in hexagonal
boron nitride single crystals created by neutron irradiation |
|
Jia-Hong Ke |
Idaho National Laboratory |
Thermal stability of solute-defect clusters in structural
alloys under irradiated environments |
|
Priyanka Agrawal |
University of North Texas |
Examination of ion irradiated Additive Friction Stir
Manufactured metastable high entropy alloy |
|
Matthew Lynch |
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor |
A novel high-throughput method for quantification of
materials swelling via microscale dilation techniques |
|
Janelle Wharry |
Purdue University |
Synergetic Effects of Irradiation, Temperature, and
Strain on Ordering in Ni-Based Alloys |
|
Morgan Smith |
Purdue University |
Porosity Evolution in High Burnup and Low Irradiation
Temperature U-10wt.%Zr Fuel Subregions |
|
Andrea Mattera |
Brookhaven National Laboratory |
Measurement of Fission Product production yields |
|
Maria Okuniewski |
Purdue University |
Low fluence effects of neutron irradiation on the phase
evolution of U-10wt.%Zr specimens |
|
Indrajit Charit |
University of Idaho |
TEM characterization of neutron irradiated HT-9 as a
function of irradiation temperature and dose |
|
Mahmud Hasan Ovi |
University of Illinois |
Post-test tensile fractography and microstructure of HT-9
alloys following ATR irradiation to doses between 0.01 and 10 dpa at 300, 450
and 550°C |
|
Sobhan Patnaik |
Idaho National Laboratory |
Advanced characterization of irradiated FAST aLEU U-Mo
rodlets using Transmission Electron Microscopy and Atom Probe Tomography |
|
Mary Sevart |
University of Florida |
Thermal Conductivity Measurements of Irradiated Annular
Low Burn-Up U-10Zr Fuel |
|
Chuck Marks |
Dominion Engineering |
Concentration Measurements of Helium and Boron in
Degraded Stainless Steel Nuclear Plant Components |
|
Jason Harp |
Oak Ridge National Laboratory |
High Temperature Testing of Fully Ceramic
Microencapsulated Fuel |
|
Wei-Ying Chen |
Argonne National Laboratory |
Irradiation Damage Rate Effect on the Dislocation Cell
Structure of Additively Manufactured 316L |
|
Soyoung Kang |
Oak Ridge National Laboratory |
Impact of re-irradiation on strain-induced structure in
heavy irradiated austenitic steel |
|
Arya Chatterjee |
Purdue University |
Understanding the Remarkable Strain-Hardening Capacity of
Irradiated PM-HIP 316L SS. |
|
Amey Khanolkar |
Idaho National Laboratory |
Examination of irradiation effects on printed strain
gauges |
|
Artem Matyskin |
Pennsylvania State University |
Testing purity of molten salts – neutron activation
analysis study |
|
Xinghang Zhang |
Purdue University |
In situ dual beam radiation on additively manufactured
oxide dispersion strengthened alloy 718 |
|
Oran Lori |
University of California-Irvine |
In-situ TEM Characterization of surrogate oxides
microstructure under fission gas retention and reactor-relevant temperatures
using ion beam implantation |
|
Joshua Rittenhouse |
Idaho National Laboratory |
Nanoindentation Creep Testing and Characterization of
High Temperature Irradiated HT-9 Cladding |
|
Calvin Lear |
Los Alamos National Laboratory |
Direct Confirmation of Grain Boundary Roughening Using In
Situ Irradiation |
|
Kieran Dolan |
Kairos Power LLC |
Quantifying gamma irradiation tolerance of
high-emissivity coatings on stainless steel |
|
Nicole Rodriguez Perez |
Purdue University |
Analysis of FCCI and phase decomposition on Zr-lined
U-10Mo specimens using Transmission Electron Microscopy and Atom Probe
Tomography |
|
Yogesh Kumar |
University of Florida |
Quantification of Zr Redistribution in Irradiated U-Zr
Annular Fuel using EPMA |
|
Ericmoore Jossou |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Three-dimensional imaging and quantification of neutron
radiation induced porosity in U-10Zr fuels |
|
Todd Sherman |
Idaho State University |
Post Irradiation Examination of High Entropy Carbides |
|
Kevin Tsai |
Idaho National Laboratory |
Temperature effects of rhodium self-powered neutron
detectors in a gamma field |
|
Benjamin Mejia Diaz |
Texas A&M University |
Hybrid proton and heavy ion irradiation for void swelling
testing |
|
Daniele Salvato |
Idaho National Laboratory |
Stability limits of the gas bubble superlattice in
neutron irradiated U-Mo fuel: A 3D multi-modal and multi-scale study |
|
Sadman Sakib |
North Carolina State University |
Self-Alpha Irradiation of UO2-UB2 fuel |
NSUF selected these projects through a competitive evaluation process from a
pool of quality RTE proposals. Proposals were evaluated based on a variety of
factors including technical approach, mission relevance and
scientific-technical merit. NSUF recipients do not receive direct financial
awards. Instead, they receive access to state-of-the-art irradiation testing,
post-irradiation examination and microscopy, beamline, high performance
computing, and technical assistance for the design and execution of projects at
no cost. Prospective researchers are encouraged to request samples from the
Nuclear Fuels and Materials Library, a physical repository of already
irradiated materials that can accelerate a research project since the specimens
are ready for post-irradiation examination.
The
final RTE call for fiscal year 2024 is now open. NSUF balances the
distribution of funds in a single call to impact a broad group of researchers.
To do so, NSUF may limit the number of awards to a single partner, a single
institution, a single research group, self-applications, awards to non-U.S.
institutions, and may decline proposals with large budgets out of proportion to
the guidelines. NSUF may award Center for Advanced Energy Studies-only or high performance
computing-only applications, even if their scores are below the threshold for
the RTE call. NSUF may also restrict awards to applicants who have a poor
record of completing awarded RTEs within the nine-month period or have a poor
record of timely publication or acknowledgment of NSUF-funded research. NSUF
will give special consideration to principal investigators from minority-serving
institutions.
Click here to
find current and past awards. Learn more about NSUF awards and resources
at https://nsuf.inl.gov.
Articles
About Us
The Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) is the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy's only designated nuclear energy user facility. Through peer-reviewed proposal processes, the NSUF provides researchers access to neutron, ion, and gamma irradiations, post-irradiation examination and beamline capabilities at Idaho National Laboratory and a diverse mix of university, national laboratory and industry partner institutions.
Privacy and Accessibility · Vulnerability Disclosure Program
