Grant: Alliance Grants

SMRs represent a paradigm shift in nuclear energy not just in terms of size and/or modularity, but also in the robustness of the fuels. As a result of decades of research, and additional work on accident tolerant fuel post-Fukushima, many SMR designs will utilize TRISO fuels which provide multiple layers of added protection and can withstand extreme high temperatures (precluding "fuel-melt" scenarios). Past OPEX indicates that indeed these fuels provide a large improvement in safety provided that their manufacturing and in-core performance can be assured (i.e., in cases where manufacturing defects exist then the safety improvements are degraded). However in Canada (and globally) there is a lack of capability to measure both the as-built characteristics of these new fuels, as well as their performance during or after irradiation in the reactor core. This project will utilize existing analytical and experimental facilities at McMaster to develop and demonstrate a robust 3-dimensional inspection system that can be used to assure TRISO fuels perform as intended both for fresh (as designed) and irradiated conditions. Beyond TRISO based reactors, many advanced cooled reactors using liquid Sodium (ARC100) or molten salt based fuels (e.g. Terrestrial Energy) will require inspection methods for their fuel retaining components. The research leverages existing experimental facilities, imaging experience, and machine learning methods to generate first-of- a-kind and micron-level imaging of the TRISO and other fuel retaining components.