2018 | AFC ACCOMPLISHMENTS 10 1.2 FROMTHE DIRECTOR The mission of the Advanced Fuels Campaign (AFC) is to perform research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) activities in support of identifying and devel- oping innovative fuels and cladding materials and associated technologies to improve the performance and safety of current and future reactors; increase the efficient utilization of nuclear energy resources; contribute to enhancing proliferation resistance of the nuclear fuel cycle; and address challenges related to waste manage- ment and ultimate disposal issues. AFC pursues its mission objectives using a goal-oriented, science-based approach which seeks to develop a fundamental understanding of fuel and cladding behaviors under conditions that arise during fabrica- tion, normal steady-state irradiation, off-normal transient scenarios, and storage/disposal. This approach includes advancing the theoretical understanding of fuel behavior, conducting fundamental and integral experiments, and supporting the mechanistic, multi-scale modeling of nuclear fuels to inform and guide fuel development projects, advance the technological readiness of promising fuel candidates, and ultimately support fuel qualification and licensing initia- tives. In the area of advanced tools for the modeling and simulation of nuclear fuels, the AFC works in close partnership with the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program, participating with NEAMS in developing mechanistic fuel behavior models and providing experimental data to inform and validate their most advanced tools. Specifically,AFC objectives in the coming five year horizon include: 1. support the industry-led de- velopment of AccidentTolerant Fuel (ATF) technologies with improved reliability and perfor- mance under normal operations and enhanced tolerance during hypothetical accident scenarios, with implementation of lead test rods/assemblies of one or more ATF concepts in commercial reactor(s) by 2022; 2. lead research and development on innovative fuel and cladding tech- nologies for applications to future advanced reactors, especially fast-spectrum reactors, including reactors that utilize both once- through and recycle scenarios; 3. continue the development and demonstration of the science- based approach, contributing to the establishment of a state-of- the-art research and development (R&D) infrastructure, necessary to accelerate the development of advanced fuel concepts; and 4. collaborate with NEAMS on the development and validation of multi-scale, multi-physics, and increasingly predictive fuel per- formance models and codes. Steven Hayes NationalTechnical Director (208) 526-7255 steve.hayes@inl.gov