Nearly 20 percent of the electricity generated in the U.S. comes from nuclear sources, and the performance of the nation’s nuclear reactors depends on the materials they use to produce energy. Join the CAES Codebreaker webinar on Sept. 2 as University of Idaho (UI) Professor Indrajit Charit discusses the role that materials research and development plays in advancing nuclear energy, as well as the work conducted by his research group.
Much of the research performed by Charit’s group has relied on CAES facilities, including the development of nanostructured ferritic alloys (NFAs) via spark plasma sintering and pressure resistance welding of NFAs and refractory metals. In his presentation, Nuclear Materials Research via CAES: A Perspective, Charit will briefly introduce those accomplishments while noting their significance. He also will delve into the results of a recently concluded research project involving the study of fuel-cladding chemical interaction (FCCI) for fast reactors. Lanthanide fission products (e.g. neodymium, cerium, praseodymium and lanthanum) produced within the fuels migrate toward the cladding-fuel interface, creating intermetallic compounds and leading to eventual fuel cladding breach. Detrimental lanthanides can be arrested within the metallic fuel matrix by forming stable intermetallic compounds with externally added dopants. An integrated theoretical and experimental approach to screen dopants will be presented for effective capture of lanthanides within the uranium matrix.
Charit, who recently became chair in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Industrial Management at UI, Idaho Falls, also will briefly describe his background and expertise, as well as his relationship with CAES from its inception.
The CAES Codebreaker webinar takes place on the first Thursday of the month at 3:30 p.m. It provides a forum for students and researchers to address their work, communicate opportunities and challenges to a receptive audience, and increase dialogue among CAES affiliates.
Click here to join the meeting
Phone number (audio only): 208-901-7635
Conference ID: 884 332 704#
