2017 | AFC ACCOMPLISHMENTS 192 Fast reactor irradiation of transmutation fuels is capable of converting long-lived actinide elements into much shorter lived fission products.This can result in a dramatic reduction to the long-term radiotoxicity and heat load of spent nuclear fuels, which could potentially lead to a greatly reduced timeframe for which a geologic repository would need to be licensed. This work presents initial results of the first electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) performed in the United States on a metallic transmutation fuel specimen from the FUTURIX-FTA experiment irradiated in the Phénix fast reactor in France. Project Description: Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is the only DOE laboratory capable of conducting quantitative EPMA analysis on highly irradiated nuclear fuels. It joins a few government laboratories from Europe and Asia who have this capability, thus worldwide, this capability is rare, but highly significant. First, DOE’s Advanced Fuels Campaign (AFC) is currently developing a new mechanistic model describing constituent redistribution in metallic fuels, and data obtained from this and subsequent EPMA examinations of other already irradiated fuels experiments (e.g.,AFC-1, FUTURIX-FTA) is needed to begin validation of this model. Second, it is Initial Electron Probe Microanalysis Examination of FUTURIX-FTA Sample DOE-1 Principal Investigator: Karen Wright Collaborators: Jason Harp, Cindi Papesch important to compare how irradiation performance data obtained from the cadmium-shrouded tests of fast reactor fuels conducted in the AdvancedTest Reactor (ATR) compare to identical (or very similar tests) conducted in fast spectrum test reactors (i.e., EBR-II, FFTF, and Phénix).The chemical redistribution information that will be obtained using the EPMA over the next several years is vital data needed for that comparison; in fact, that comparison, which is directly related to the radial temperature profile experienced by the test pins, cannot be considered comprehensive or complete without it. Accomplishments: The objectives of this research are several-fold.They include: 1) Construction of a radiologically shielded EPMA suite, capable of handling and analyzing highly radioactive (2 Ci of 60Co) irradiated fuel samples; 2) Development of the EPMA capability to be able to analyze quantitatively irradiated fuel samples, to include actinide elements.This includes fabrication and testing of neptunium, plutonium, and americium standards; and 3) Demonstration of the EPMA capability by quantitatively analyzing a cross section of irradiated nuclear fuel. Idaho National Laboratory is the only DOE laboratory to have the capability to quantitatively chemically analyze highly irradiated nuclear fuels on a micrometer scale using EPMA.