FY 2015 Integrated Research Projects Awards
The Energy Department is also awarding $13 million for 4 Integrated Research Projects (IRPs) that will deliver solutions to high priority nuclear energy research challenges, including the development of accident tolerant fuel options for near term applications, benchmarking for transient fuel testing, and approaches to dry cask inspection and nondestructive evaluation. IRP award recipients are listed below.
Title |
Institution
|
Funding Amount* |
Project Description |
Innovative Approach to SCC Inspection and Evaluation of Canister in Dry Storage | Colorado School of Mines | $3,000,000 | Researchers will study the effects of chloride-initiated stress corrosion cracking (CISCC) of dry storage containers. The project will use experimental testing and non-destructive evaluation methods for CISCC that will allow for better prediction and monitoring of materials degradation. Early identification of CISCC occurrence will allow for more responsive corrective actions. |
Development of Accident Tolerant Fuel Options For Near Term Applications | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | $3,000,000 | Researchers will develop computational tools to evaluate accident tolerant fuel (ATF) options for near term applications. The computational tools will be predominantly developed under the NEAMS framework and will include: RattleSNake, MARMOT, BISON and RELAP-7. These codes will be further enhanced in order to model ATF options. |
Computational and Experimental Benchmarking for Transient Fuel Testing | Oregon State University | $4,000,000 | Researchers will perform a benchmark of the Transient Reactor Facility located at the Idaho National Laboratory. This benchmark will include two steady state neutronic benchmark problems and two transient benchmark problems. It will include the design, construction and utilization of a full-scale representation of an in-pile flow loop prototype for TREAT and numerical benchmarking against the experimental data gained from the experiment. |
Multimodal Nondestructive Dry Cask Basket Structure and Spent Fuel Evaluation | University of Mississippi | $3,000,000 | Researchers will use emission source tomography, acoustics and ultrasonic investigation, and muon imaging to evaluate and monitor the structural health of above ground dry storage casks. Partnerships with AREVA and EPRI will provide access to full scale test casks to move technology from the laboratory to the field. |
Total |
$13,000,000 | |
*Actual project funding will be established during contract negotiation phase.