Articles
Articles
Materials and fuels find new life in NFML
Since its inception a decade ago, the Nuclear Fuels and Materials Library (NFML) has blossomed into one of the largest assortments of nuclear fuels and materials available to the general nuclear research community for individual testing and research. These specimens range from conventional and advanced steels to experimental alloys, as well as ceramics and fuels, many of which were used inside of nuclear reactors. Operated and managed by the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF), NFML was initially conceptualized by the NSUF staff who identified an abundance of legacy materials from past research and development programs being stored without use in hot
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Tuesday, April 28, 2020
NewsletterA New Tool: The RAD Calculator
To get a job done, you need the right tool. Researchers now have one that will make their job easier.Most experiments run through the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) have the same underlying goal: quantifying changes in material properties. These changes arise from the radiation damage caused to a sample placed in a nuclear reactor.When designing these material science experiments, NSUF researchers have to make some choices: which reactor or reactors among those available would be best to use, where to place a sample within the reactor, how long to irradiate the test material and to what radiation damage levels
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RTE Schedule Update
Like with many things, the spread of COVID-19 has impacted the Rapid Turnaround Experiment (RTE) award process. Proposals submitted in the second RTE call are still being reviewed. Award letters were originally scheduled to be sent June 1. However, this will most likely be delayed. The third RTE is anticipated to open on August 3, 2020. If you have questions about RTEs, please contact Jeff Benson (jeff.benson@inl.gov).
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Thursday, March 26, 2020
AnnouncementStatement Regarding COVID-19
All,Like the rest of the country we have been watching and monitoring the impacts of the COVID-19 virus. Because we are a distributed user facility, we have been tracking our partner facilities as they received guidance from their parent institutions. All NSUF partner institutions have been impacted at some level.As many facilities close or restrict access and activities, please work directly with the facilities conducting your work to determine how this will impact your project and milestones.The NSUF Program Office based at Idaho National Laboratory has been working remotely since March 17 and anticipate this will be the case for
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NSUF Project Leads Postdoc to INL
Idaho National Laboratory (INL) postdoctoral researcher Kaustubh Bawane attributes much of his career success so far to a 2018 Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) award he received while working on his doctoral thesis at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.The NSUF access award allowed Bawane to irradiate the nuclear fuel cladding materials he was studying, use cutting-edge instruments often unavailable to university students and ultimately secure his two-year postdoctoral position at INL that started in February 2020. To add to the journey, Bawane was recently awarded a second NSUF project that will allow him to utilize Texas A&M University's Accelerator
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Second FY 2020 RTE Call Opens
The second FY 2020 Rapid Turnaround Experiment (RTE) has opened. Proposals are due Thursday, March 12.The RTE award process offers an avenue for researchers to perform irradiation effects studies of limited scope on nuclear fuels and materials of interest utilizing NSUF facilities. Completion of RTE projects is expected within 9 months of award. Prospective researchers are strongly encouraged to request samples from the NSUF Nuclear Fuels and Materials Library.RTE proposals are solicited and awarded three times per year. They are reviewed and evaluated for technical merit, relevancy, and feasibility. The number of awards is dependent on the availability of funding. Further
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NSUF’s High Performance Computing Powers Innovation
When the Wright brothers were building the world’s first aircraft, the inventors’ primary concern was whether or not their machine could get off the ground. It’s easy to assume that neither Orville nor Wilbur were thinking about the infinite number of variables associated with airplanes today, many of which are unpredictable; or so it may seem. Today aerospace engineers utilize modeling and simulation to remove some of the danger the Wright brothers first experienced.“Aviation is a high cost and consequence industry,” said Eric Whiting, Division Director for Advanced Scientific Computing at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). “Anything you can do to
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DOE-NE Awards 19 RTE Projects
IDAHO FALLS -- The U.S. Department of Energy - Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) has selected 19 new Rapid Turnaround Experiment (RTE) projects, totaling approximately $690,000. These project awards went to 12 principal investigators from universities, five from national laboratories, one from industry, and one foreign university. The NSUF competitively selected these projects from a pool of high-quality RTE proposals submitted during the solicitation period. Each proposal was evaluated based on a variety of factors including technical approach, mission relevance, and scientific-technical merit. The NSUF, managed by Idaho National Laboratory (INL), provides unparalleled opportunities for nuclear energy researchers. Through the RTE solicitation, a researcher can
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Friday, January 24, 2020
Program Office HighlightNSUF Welcomes New Planning and Financial Controls Specialist
Jones will take over this role for Travis Howell who is now an NSUF experiment manager.
Rachel Jones is organized, detailed and deliberate—traits that make her a good fit in her new role as a planning and financial controls specialist (PFCS) for the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF).Jones started in October supporting NSUF by monitoring and tracking the funding and costs of projects with budgets ranging from $50,000 to $2.5 million. She also will support the development, implementation and schedule of nuclear energy research projects awarded by the program, including nuclear fuels and materials experiments. “I’m a very structured person and I enjoy the structure that comes with planning and monitoring these projects,” Jones said. She replaces TravisRead More
Friday, January 24, 2020
NewsletterNSUF Research Helps Support Student Researchers
The opportunities for student-led research are nearly endless
A vital resource in the United States’ critical energy infrastructure, nuclear power requires perpetual research in order to advance. While other user facilities reside across the globe, very few provide the resources or capabilities of the Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF).As the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy’s only user facility, NSUF has championed hundreds of researchers from across the country and world in the pursuit of nuclear energy innovation to benefit our nation. Researchers are provided access to world-leading nuclear facilities, such as the Irradiated Materials Characterization Laboratory (IMCL) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) or the HighRead More
DOE-NE Reopens NSUF 1.3 in CINR FOA
DOE-NE has released Amendment 003 to the FY2020 Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research (CINR) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). The purpose of this amendment is to: (1) Clarify readiness requirements for NSUF-1.3 applications with this statement: “The NSUF readiness requirements are applicable to all NSUF funded workscopes (Reference Table 1. FY 2020 Work scope Overview) with the exception of NSUF 1.3: NUCLEAR MATERIALS DISCOVERY AND QUALIFICATION INITIATIVE. Applications in the NSUF 1.3 work scope may include preliminary materials fabrication and characterization within the context of the work scope. Other than this noted exception, NSUF will not support preliminary fuels, materials or instrumentation development work,
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