b'Transient Testing of SFR Fuel DesignsPrincipal Investigator: Colby JensenTeam Members/ Collaborators: Robert Armstrong, Cole Blakely, Devin Imholte, Randall Fielding, Nicolas Woolstenhulme, Dan Chapman, Andrew Chipman, John Bess, Austin Fleming, Nathan Gardner, Sterling Morrill, Trevor Smuin, Doug Dempsey, Jason Schulthess, Fabiola Cappia, Luca Capriotti, and Daniel WachsThe ARES joint project with INL and JAEA has completed detailed final design for three advanced reactor fuel experiments and is ready to irradiate the first capsule to enable improved performance of advanced reactors.A dvanced Reactor Experimentstesting infrastructure to provide for Sodium Fast Reactor Fuelssodium fast reactor (SFR) boundary (ARES) is a joint projectconditions to accomplish its goals.between the U.S. Idaho NationalProject Description:Laboratory (INL) and the JapaneseThe ARES project is investigating the Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) totransient performance of advanced investigate the transient fuel perfor- designs of irradiated metallic and mance of irradiated advanced metallicMOX fuels as a collaboration between and mixed oxide (MOX) fuel designsINL and JAEA to support improved from Experimental Breeder Reactorperformance of advanced reactors. (EBR-II) experiment programs.The objectives are to investigate fuel Transient fuel performance of fastfailure modes in high burnup metallic reactor fuels has been well-establishedand MOX fuels while developing and internationally. The continued opti- validating transient fuel performance mization of fuel designs and associ- models and establishing testing ated operational limits to improveinfrastructure at the TREAT facility. performance and economics demandsThe ARES project is comprised of the continued experimental evalua- five primary components in this first tion of these behaviors. These goalsphase. Figure 1 presents the ARES require the development of improvedproject timeline.fuel performance behavioral models implemented in advanced modeling1.Design of an in-pile SFR testing and simulation tools, which in turncapsule and associated hotrequire modern experiment comple- cell infrastructure to remotely ments with new data streams. Theload irradiated fuel specimensARES project relies on the Transientusing the best modeling and Reactor Test (TREAT) facility and thesimulation capabilities.development of associated in-pile 122 2021|AFC ACCOMPLISHMENTS'