The International Atomic Energy Agency is organising a Technical Meeting (TM) on n Advanced Technology Fuels: Progress on their Design, Manufacturing, Experimentation, Irradiation, and Case Studies for their Industrialization, Safety Evaluation, and Future Prospects, bringing together participants from research organizations, nuclear fuel design organizations, nuclear power plant operators and engineering companies, regulatory bodies and technical support organizations, universities, and other organizations engaged in near- and mid-term ATF fuel development, design, manufacturing, licensing and operation for large and small water-cooled reactors.
In recent years, significant progress has been made, worldwide, on ATF development, qualification (testing and simulation) and industrial implementations, included successfully completed the IAEA Coordinated Research Project (CRP) T12032 on Testing and Simulation for Advanced Technology and Accident Tolerant Fuels (ATF-TS), which involved 29 partners from 22 Member States (MSs).
To present these advances and innovations and based on the advice of the members of the Technical Working Group on Fuel Performance and Technology, the IAEA is organizing a Technical Meeting on “Advanced Technology Fuels: Progress on their Design, Manufacturing, Experimentation, Irradiation, and Case Studies for their Industrialization, Safety Evaluation, and Future Prospects”, that will serve as a platform to:
- Discuss the results of the CRP T12032 on ATF-TS,
- Assess the safety benefits and performance of ATFs,
- Identify gaps and challenges in ATF development, qualification and licensing,
- Explore future IAEA activities, including a new CRP on ATF testing and simulation including for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).
This event will feature five main technical sessions, covering key aspects of ATF development, testing, modelling, safety analysis, and future applications.
1. Advances in ATF Materials and Manufacturing
- ATF cladding and fuel fabrication
- Coating designs and optimization
- Industrialization of ATFs and associated challenges
2. Experimental Testing of ATF Materials and Validation Database
- Bundle Tests – Bundle tests with ATFs simulating DBA, DEC-A and DEC-B conditions including tests with air ingress
- Separate Effect Tests (SETs) – SETs focused on nominal operating conditions and anticipated occupational occurrences (long-term corrosion testing, mechanical tests, coating defects), accidental scenarios (HT steam/air oxidation, LOCA- and RIA-related SETs)
- In-pile Testing– Irradiation testing of candidate ATF materials both in research reactors or accelerators and commercial power plants (e.g., LTRs, LTAs)
3. ATF Modelling
- Verification, Validation, and Uncertainty Quantification of fuel performance codes
- Multi-physics and Multi-scale Modelling
- Benchmarking of fuel performance codes for ATF materials in operational and accident conditions. This can also be extended to behaviour in storage conditions.
- Data-driven and artificial intelligence (AI) applications
4. ATF Safety Analysis and Licensing Practices
- New Safety Criteria for ATFs
- Innovative Qualification & Licensing Approaches for DBA and DEC scenarios
- Risk-Informed Approaches
- Margin Quantification and Management
5. Future prospects of ATF
- Effect of ATFs on occurrence and consequences of Fuel Fragmentation, Relocation, and Dispersal (FFRD),
- Definition of Post- Critical Heat Flux (CHF) Time at Temperature Limits
- Improved ATF designs
- Use of LEU+ with ATFs for High Burnup (HBU)
- Deployment of ATFs in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)
Programme Committee
The International Programme Committee is composed of the following members:
Mr Jinzhao Zhang
Belgium (Tractebel) - Chair
Mr Martin Sevecek
Czech Republic (Czech Technical University) - Co-Chair
Mr Antoine Bouloré
France (CEA)
Mr Juri Stuckert
Germany (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Mr Zoltan Hozer
Hungary (Centre for Energy Research)
Mr Paul Van Uffelen
European Commission (Joint Research Centre)
Mr Kan Sakamoto
Japan (Nippon Nuclear Fuel Development Co.)
Ms Alice Chung
USA (NRC)
Mr Yongjun Jiao
China (Nuclear Power Institute of China)
Mr Youho Lee
Korea (SNU)
Mr Robert Hansen
USA (INL)
Ms Nuria Doncel Gutierrez
Spain (ENUSA)
Mr Nathan A. Capps
USA (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
Mr Aleksei Gusev
Russia (TVEL)
