Education and Training Series #41: Performance Assessments for Fuels and Materials for Advanced Nuclear Reactors
Part of a webinar series hosted by the GIF Education and Training Working Group since 2016.
Who should attend?
Policymakers, industry professionals, regulators, researchers, students, the general public.
About the "GIF Education and Training" Webinars
These webinars, organised by the GIF Education and Training Working Group are streamed live monthly. The recordings and slide decks are accessible after the webinar on this website. These webinars cover a very broad range of technical and policy related topics. At the end of 2023 they have been viewed by more than 15000 people (approximately half of the views during the live streams and the other half views being of the archives on the public GIF website). In total, the GIF webinars have reached Generation IV enthusiasts, scientists, and engineers in more than 80 countries.
These webinars are organised and hosted by the GIF Education and Training Working Group (ETWG).
About this Webinar
A host of novel fuel and material concepts are being investigated as part of the Gen IV reactor development initiative. While many of these candidates are rooted in historical programs from previous reactor development campaigns, most of these concepts were never fully evaluated for long-term performance in non-LWR facilities. The performance data that is needed for candidate material downselection, feasibility studies, and eventual qualification is, currently, very costly in terms of monetary cost and human capital. The use of an ‘all of the above’ strategy for performance assessment is needed to reduce the cost of ushering materials through the qualification process. In this presentation, we will discuss the efforts that are currently underway, and those planned for the near future, to advance many of these candidates from concept to deployment.
Presentation made during the webinar
Meet the presenter
Dr. Daniel LaBrier is an Assistant Professor of Nuclear Engineering at Idaho State University. He earned his doctorate in nuclear science and engineering from ISU in 2013, with an emphasis in irradiated materials characterization. His research focuses on characterizing nuclear-grade materials that are exposed to extreme environments and nuclear reactor safety projects, including investigation of corrosion and erosion of structural materials relevant to LWR and advanced (SFR, MSR, HTR) systems. His research interests include development and qualification of fuels and materials for advanced reactor concepts, investigating thermal hydraulic effects on material performance, and used fuel recycling techniques. In the recent past, Dr. LaBrier has contributed to projects related to chemical effects testing for Generic Safety Issue (GSI)-191, materials testing capability development for the TREAT reactor restart, and design of advanced reactor testing systems. After serving as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of New Mexico and as a research professor at Oregon State University, Dr. LaBrier returned to ISU in March 2019 and maintains residence as a researcher at the Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES) in Idaho Falls, ID.