Accelerated Materials Deployment
This presentation is on Accelerated Materials Deployment and is intended to be presented at the 2024 NRC Standards Forum.
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
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INL Accelerated Materials Deployment Overview
This presentation discusses the FY22 activities associated with the INL Accelerated Materials Deployment work package.
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
ACCELERATED DEPLOYMENT OF NOVEL MATERIALS BASED ON RELIABILITY INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT USING CUMULATIVE DAMAGE MODELING
There is currently no widely agreed, detailed general method for licensing a novel plant incorporating novel materials (or materials being deployed in novel environments); in many such situations, there are no directly applicable engineering code cases for decision-makers (including regulators) to rely on. This paper discusses a framework for solving this problem that is based on the Reliability and Integrity Management (RIM) approach delineated in ASME BPVC Section XI Division 2. NRC Regulatory Guide 1.246, Rev. 0, endorses, with conditions, the subject portion of the 2019 ASME Code. The proposed framework is meant to support development of a licensing case by addressing certain remaining technical challenges. The framework discussed here is compatible with the Licensing Modernization Project, but applying it in a specific case will call for advances in the state of practice, if not the state of the art. The RIM approach calls for applicants to (a) allocate reliability targets to plant structures, systems, and components (SSCs), (b) show that they are able to relate the currently observed physical condition of each SSC in the program to its failure probability well enough to determine whether the target reliability allocations are being satisfied, allowing for uncertainty related to the novelty of the materials/designs/operating environments, and (c) be able to demonstrate that the proposed program of surveillances will reliably detect unacceptable degradation of an SSC before SSC failure occurs. A modeling approach potentially applicable to item (b), based on cumulative damage modeling rather than failure rates, is briefly illustrated.
22 - GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
A Regulatory Approach to Accelerated Deployment for New Material or Applications in Advanced Reactors
New advanced reactor developers may embark on deploying materials in novel and unique environments where a material’s long-term performance may be in question or unknown. In many cases, sufficient test data may not exist for the material in the desired application, or that no prescript or applicable regulatory testing requirements are available to demonstrate the safety of the application explicitly. This study endeavors to develop the framework for a regulatory and technical approach for safe and predictable accelerated materials use in advanced reactors guided by 10 CFR Part 50.43(e)(1), Advanced Reactor Design Criteria contained in Regulatory Guide 1.232, and Reliability Integrity Management Program (RIM) principles.
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
Roadmap to Iodine and Mercury Abatement Materials Selection in Nuclear Waste Processing Off-Gas Streams
This work provides a guide for candidate mercury (Hg) and iodine-129 (129I) abatement material identification, screening, evaluation, technical gap identification, and bench-scale testing prioritization while also conceptualizing a materials deployment roadmap for implementation of new materials in the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility at Hanford in Richland, Washington, and elsewhere in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) complex for similar applications. The study was prompted by the need to replace the Kombisorb BAT-37 due to uncertainties in Hg and 129I capture performance and future availability for use in the WTP LAW Facility secondary off-gas system, specifically the Carbon Adsorber units. However, replacement of this material could also mitigate two other issues with Kombisorb BAT-37 (and its successor BAT II 37): (1) fire safety risk due to exothermic heat generated by adsorption reactions between the carbon material and Hg and (2) the risk of low retention of 129I in glass and subsequent downstream impacts on secondary liquid waste treatment at the Effluent Treatment Facility.
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
Promoting the regulatory acceptance of combined ion and neutron irradiation for material degradation in nuclear reactors
The Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies (AMMT) program within the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy has developed its current recommendation for promoting the use of combined ion irradiation and neutron irradiation for the accelerated qualification of materials to be deployed in nuclear reactors. This plan is intended to provide a collaborative path forward that can be adopted by academia, national laboratories, and industry, and has been developed with input from the regulatory research arm of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). To deploy new materials or materials manufactured with new technologies, such as additive manufacturing, materials must be evaluated for reactor-induced degradation from the combination of harsh temperatures, corrosive environments, and radiation fields. However, rapid deployment of materials necessitates accelerated testing methods rather than relying on years of neutron irradiation in a material test reactor. Ion irradiation has demonstrated success in reproducing material microstructure and select property evolution resulting from neutron irradiation with three to four orders of magnitude reduction in time and cost, making it an ideal candidate for accelerated irradiation testing. This presentation provides context governing both the scientific and regulatory aspects of the proposed goal. The discussion is aimed at a broad audience including researchers from industry, national laboratories, and academia. The recommended path forward is presented as a conceptual framework of specific steps. In brief, the strategy entails developing an integrated ion and neutron irradiation test plan for the material property of interest based on the fundamental tenet of the linkage of microstructure and properties in materials. Physics-based modeling interprets ion irradiation data and predicts neutron irradiation microstructure and properties with uncertainty bounds. The first round of testing is sufficient for an initial licensing application using a risk-informed approach, while a minimum required neutron irradiation test plan reduces cost and time requirements. A surveillance program with witness specimens in-reactor provides additional data over time to improve model predictions to higher damage levels and further reduce uncertainty bounds, which can be used for license extensions or longer lifetimes in new license applications.
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
Accelerating Discovery to Deployment: Argonne's Materials Engineering Research Facility (MERF) and Its Role in Scaling Materials Technologies for Water and Resource Solutions
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories represent a unique class of government‐owned, contractor‐operated research institutions dedicated to conducting research and development (R&D) related activities that address national priorities, supporting and advancing the DOE mission. They play a vital role in sustaining U.S. innovation capacity, stewarding the nation's technical base, and nurturing science and technologies. In this perspective, we highlight the processing science and scaleup capabilities of the Materials Engineering Research Facility (MERF) at DOE's Argonne National Laboratory to demonstrate how DOE National Laboratories bridge fundamental science and applied technology development to accelerate deployment. Case studies are presented on selective membranes for critical mineral recovery, sensors for per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) detection, surface functionalization via atomic layer deposition (ALD) and sequential infiltration synthesis (SIS), and lithium recovery from battery recycling waste streams using a novel electrodialysis process. These examples underscore MERF's role in translating innovative technologies into practical solutions for renewable water and critical resource recovery, which also leverage Argonne's analytical and computational capabilities. This perspective also outlines mechanisms for collaborating with the DOE national laboratories to strengthen partnerships across government, the national laboratories, academia, and industry.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
SMART – A Comprehensive Research and Development Program to Demonstrate Application of Machine Learning for Supporting CCS Deployment
Presentation material for a paper presented at the GHGT-17 conference, Calgary, Canada, October 20-24, 2024. The objective of the US Department of Energy’s SMART Initiative, i.e., Science-informed Machine Learning (ML) for Accelerating Real-Time Decisions in Subsurface Applications, is to showcase how the utilization of ML can significantly improve efficiency and effectiveness of field-scale commercial carbon storage operations. This paper will present the results from the current phase of SMART (field deployment) for demonstrating the applicability of ML-based tools and workflows for: (a) virtual learning during the pre-injection permitting phase, (b) advanced storage reservoir imaging to better characterize fractures and faults, and (c) dynamic storage reservoir modelling and optimization to inform operational decision making and visualization of system evolution.
CO2 geologic storage↗
Management of Risks Associated with Application of Novel Materials in Novel Operating Environments in Novel Reactor Designs
There is currently no widely agreed, detailed general method for licensing a novel plant incorporating novel materials (or materials being deployed in novel environments); in many such situations, there are no directly applicable engineering code cases for decision-makers (including regulators) to rely on. This paper discusses a framework for solving this problem that is based on the Reliability and Integrity Management (RIM) approach delineated in ASME BPVC Section XI Division 2. NRC Regulatory Guide 1.246, Rev. 0, endorses, with conditions, the subject portion of the ASME Code. The proposed framework is meant to support development of a licensing case by addressing certain technical challenges. The framework discussed here is compatible with the Licensing Modernization Project, but applying it in a specific case will call for advances in the state of practice, if not the state of the art. The RIM approach calls for applicants to (a) allocate reliability targets to plant structures, systems, and components (SSCs), (b) show that they are able to relate the currently observed physical condition of each SSC in the program to its failure probability well enough to determine whether the target reliability allocations are being satisfied, allowing for uncertainty related to the novelty of the materials/designs/operating environments, and (c) be able to demonstrate that the proposed program of surveillances will reliably detect unacceptable degradation of an SSC before SSC failure occurs. These challenges are discussed in the paper, and a potentially applicable modeling approach based on cumulative damage rather than failure rates is briefly illustrated.
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
An ICME Modeling Framework for Metal Matrix Composites Focusing on Ultrahigh Temperature Matrix Material and Tungsten Carbide Reinforcement Particulate (Final CRADA Report)
Ultra High Temperature Metal Matrix Composites (UHT-MMCs) are of interest to the due to their potential defense and aerospace applications. These materials consist of a metal matrix reinforced with a stiff ceramic or cermet. Based on a preliminary literature survey, this project will focused on a pure titanium (Ti) matrix reinforced with tungsten carbide-cobalt (WC-Co). UHT-MMC technology is still at a nascent stage of development and requires extensive experimental work to optimize the structure and resulting material properties of a particular UHT-MMC material system. An accurate and complete high-performance computing (HPC) model of the Ti/WC-Co material system could greatly accelerate the development and deployment Ti/WC-Co materials by connecting processing parameters to material properties. This type of model could then be used in an integrated computational materials engineering approach to optimize the material structure to achieve a targeted level of performance.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Prioritizing circular economy strategies for sustainable PV deployment at the TW scale
Global decarbonization requires an unprecedented scale-up of photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing and deployment. The material demand and eventual end of life management associated with multi-TW scale deployment poses many challenges. Circular Economy (CE) and it's associated R-Actions (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) have been proposed to mitigate end of life management and material sourcing concerns. However, CE metrics typically focus on a single product and only consider mass, excluding energy flows. This work leverages the PV in Circular Economy (PV ICE) tool to quantify the deployment, mass, and energy impacts of R-Actions and proposed sustainable PV designs in the context of achieving energy transition deployment goals (75 TW in 2050). 13 module scenarios are established and evaluated across 6 capacity, mass and energy metrics to identify tradeoffs and priorities. We find that increasing module efficiency can reduce near-term material demands up to 30% and improve energy metrics by up to 9%. Material circularity (recycling) can minimize lifecycle wastes and reduce material demands at the cost of higher energy demands. Increasing module lifetime, including reliability improvements and reuse strategies, is effective at reducing both material (>10%) and energy demands (24%). Uniquely, lifetime improvements maximize benefits and minimize the harms across all six metrics while achieving multi-TW scale deployment.
Photovoltaics↗
Nondestructive Evaluation of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code requires repair and replacement of safety-related piping materials to meet the original Construction Code; however, no construction criteria currently exist for carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) materials in the nuclear industry. Although nondestructive examination (NDE) techniques for cast and wrought ferritic and austenitic steels are well established, licensees are increasingly deploying novel materials such as CFRP for which assessment of the use of NDE is required, as the inspectability of such materials and the influence of manufacturing processes on inspectability remain insufficiently understood. To address these gaps, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) evaluated the fabrication of several CFRP repair mockups and the effectiveness of NDE methods to support regulatory review of CFRP repairs in nuclear power plant applications. Representative flat-plate mockups containing realistic fabrication defects were manufactured and inspected using manual and automated tap testing, dynamic response spectroscopy (DRS), and ultrasonic testing (UT). The study identified significant fabrication variability, particularly in controlling defect size and epoxy thickness, which strongly influenced defect detectability by NDE methods. Tap testing was effective for shallow defects in thin epoxy configurations but unreliable for thicker repairs and deeper flaws. DRS demonstrated higher sensitivity to dry spots but produced unconfirmed indications for thicker plates, requiring further validation. Conventional UT, particularly at 1.0 MHz, showed the strongest overall capability for detecting a range of defects, although performance degraded with increasing repair thickness and complexity. The results highlight the need to better define critical defect sizes, develop reliable mockup fabrication methods, and validate NDE methods needed to support CFRP repairs.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Irradiation Effects on Stability of δ-UZr2 phase in U-50 wt% Zr Alloy
U-50wt%Zr is a candidate metallic nuclear fuel with potential application in light water reactors due to its excellent thermal properties and high radiation tolerance. The Zr-rich UZr fuels possess greater swelling resistance and fission gas release characteristics compared with U-rich UZr fuels. In this current study, the δ-phase U-50wt%Zr is proton irradiated at room temperature to 1 displacement per atom (dpa) to provide insights on phase stability under irradiation conditions. High resolution characterization of Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Atom Probe Tomography (APT) characterization techniques are used to elucidate microstructural changes due to irradiation. TEM and APT results show highly oriented bcc β-Zr-rich platelet precipitates nucleating adjacent to α-U phases inside the UZr 2 matrix. Formation of this platelet morphology is characteristic of Widmänstatten structure which can be attributed to a variety of factors such as differences in thermal expansion coefficient between the phases, grain size, alloy composition, and cooling rate. The phases present are distinctly different than those observed through in situ annealing, but irradiation accelerates diffusion and phase separation kinetics. These microstructural changes in U-50wt%Zr are different from those achieved by pure thermodynamic or high temperature heavy ion irradiation experiments. Finally, our work, together with previous ones, highlight the necessity to study the U-Zr phase diagram under non-equilibrium thermodynamics conditions to support this material's deployment as a viable nuclear fuel form.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
Electrochemical Characterization of Biomolecular Electron Transfer at Conductive Polymer Interfaces
Bio-electrochemical systems (BESs) are promising for renewable energy generation but remain hindered by inefficient electron transfer at electrode surfaces. As the toolbox of bio-anode materials increases, rigorous electrochemical characterization of emerging materials is needed. Here, we holistically characterize the electrochemical interaction of flavin mononucleotide (FMN), an electron shuttle in biological systems and a cofactor for oxidoreductase enzymes, with the bio-inspired mixed conducting polymer poly{3-[6'-(N-methylimidazolium)hexyl]thiophene} (P3HT-Im + ). The behavior of this polymer is compared to the equivalent polymer without the histidine-like imidazolium. We find improved conductivity and charge storage in imidazolium-containing polymers beyond what is explained by differences in the electroactive area. The P3HT-Im + further shows internal charge storage but with negligible faradaic contribution, indicating that charge storage capacity may translate to improved biocatalysis non-intuitive ways. Finally, one-electron transfer is observed between FMN and glassy carbon, while a bio-similar two-electron transfer is observed for the P3HT-Im + . To our knowledge, this is the first example of a concerted two-electron transfer between FMN and an electrode interface, which we attribute to the bio-inspired, histidine-like imidazolium functional groups in the polymer. These studies demonstrate the importance of bio-relevant materials characterization when such materials are deployed in BESs.
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
Robustness and printed sensor qualification
A limiting factor of additive manufactured (AM) sensors for in-pile applications is the development of appropriate interconnection and packaging strategies that can maintain reliable performance in extreme environments. Failure mechanisms in these harsh conditions could include, but not limited to, materials interaction (i.e., intermetallic formation) and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch between the individual components of the sensors. To mitigate premature failure and enable the successful sustained operation of AM sensors, non-destructive qualification tests are used as an intermediate process control step used for verifying robustness and reliability of the sensor before they are deployed. A materials system of interest is the use of barium strontium titanium oxide (BST) films on stainless steel 316L (SS316L) substrate. Due to BST’s high dielectric constant and tunable dielectric properties, there is an interest for its application as an insulation/encapsulation layer for capacitive strain gauges when printed on structural materials. Previous work on the BST/SS316L material system, however, showed that the BST cracks when exposed to temperatures up to 600 °C due to CTE mismatch between the printed BST film and the metallic substrate. When comparing different fabrication techniques, less surface cracking was observed in the samples that deposited thinner (i.e., 2-20 μm) than samples that were thicker (i.e., 135 µm – 300 µm). The objective of this report is to establish a qualification process that will determine and address any challenges (i.e., mechanical failure of thick prints) of the AM sensor prior to its application in experimental tests. To demonstrate the qualification process in this report, laser spallation and uniaxial tensile tests using dynamic and quasi-static loading, respectively, will be discussed.
36 - MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
A review of antimicrobial implications for improving indoor air quality
The frequent outbreak of infectious respiratory diseases, such as the recent COVID-19 epidemic, raised the importance of indoor air quality. Removing microorganisms from indoor air is critical to improve indoor air quality. Numerous studies in recent years have been published on developing antimicrobial materials and technologies for antibacterial and antiviral applications. Further, this study critically reviews the recent antimicrobial advances for improving indoor air quality. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the antimicrobial mechanisms, development of materials, and deployment strategies, as well as a performance evaluation of the antimicrobial implication for indoor air quality. Furthermore, the challenges and opportunities of future research directions are also highlighted.
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
Relating Measured Component Damage to Assessed Component Reliability in Reliability Integrity Management (RIM)
There is currently no widely agreed detailed general method for licensing a novel plant incorporating novel materials (or materials being deployed in novel environments); in many such situations, there are no directly applicable engineering code cases for decision-makers (including regulators) to rely on. It may be possible to develop an approach to licensing such a plant that is based on the Reliability and Integrity Management (RIM) approach delineated in ASME BPVC Section XI Division 2. NRC Regulatory Guide 1.246, Rev.0, endorses, with conditions, the subject portion of the ASME Code. But that portion of the ASME code is written at a very high level, and there are fundamental technical challenges associated with applying it literally to licensing a real plant. In the RIM approach, applicants need to do the following (among other things): • Allocate target reliabilities to structures, systems, and components (SSCs) that collectively support the top-level plant safety and availability objectives; • Understand failure modes of those SSCs, and the degradation mechanisms that could lead to those failure modes; • Develop and propose a program of surveillances that will identify degradation prior to failure of SSCs; • Provide a means of reporting results, taking actions for anomalous or undesirable conditions, and give the regulator assurance of continued safe operations. Applying RIM in a specific case will call for advances in the state of practice of relating physical observables to functional reliability of certain component types. Except where a given level of damage corresponds to a failed (or nearly failed) state, it is not practical to establish a precise quantitative relationship between physical observables and reliability. This paper focuses on managing risk of passive component failures based on observable damage parameters. A simple approach to cumulative damage modeling will be illustrated with a view to possible use in RIM applications.
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
Toward autonomous laboratories: Convergence of artificial intelligence and experimental automation
The ever-increasing demand for novel materials with superior properties inspires retrofitting traditional research paradigms in the era of artificial intelligence and automation. An autonomous experimental platform (AEP) has emerged as an exciting research frontier that achieves full autonomy via integrating data-driven algorithms such as machine learning (ML) with experimental automation in the material development loop from synthesis, characterization, and analysis, to decision making. In this review, we started with a primer to describe how to develop data-driven algorithms for solving material problems. Then, we systematically summarized recent progress on automated material synthesis, ML-enabled data analysis, and decision-making. Finally, we discussed the challenges and opportunities in an endeavor to develop the next-generation AEP for ultimately realizing an autonomous or self-driving laboratory. In conclusion, this review will provide insights for researchers aiming to learn the frontier of ML in materials science and deploy AEP in their labs for accelerating material development.
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗