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2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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Researchers use one-of-a-kind expertise and capabilities to test fuels of tomorrow
At the Idaho National Laboratory Hot Fuel Examination Facility, containment box operator Jake Maupin moves a manipulator arm into position around a pencil-thin nuclear fuel rod. He is preparing for a procedure that he and his colleagues have practiced repeatedly in anticipation of this moment in the hot cell.
L. J. Bond, S. R. Doctor, J. W. Griffin, A. B. Hull, S. N. Malik
Nuclear Technology | Volume 173 | Number 1 | January 2011 | Pages 46-55
Technical Paper | NPIC&HMIT Special / Materials for Nuclear Systems | doi.org/10.13182/NT173-46
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has undertaken a program to lay the groundwork for defining proactive actions to manage degradation of materials in light water reactors (LWRs). This proactive management of materials degradation (PMMD) program examines LWR component materials and the degradation phenomena that affect them. Of particular interest is how such phenomena can be monitored and data can be used to predict degradation and prevent component failure. Some forms of degradation, including some modes of stress corrosion cracking, are characterized by a long initiation time followed by a rapid growth phase, and monitoring such long-term degradation will require new nondestructive evaluation methods and measurement procedures. As reactor lifetimes are extended, degradation mechanisms previously considered too long-term to be of consequence (such as concrete and wiring insulation degradation) may become more important. This paper explains the basic principles of PMMD and its relationship to in-service inspection, condition-based maintenance, and advanced diagnostics and prognostics. It then reviews the phases for degradation development and technologies with potential for sensing and monitoring degradation in its early stages.