An approach to fuel development and qualification

Some of the rationale for nuclear energy technology development in the US has been lost or forgotten over the past two decades with the lack of a focused reactor development program. But the emergence of new R&D programs points to a need to understand how best to plan for a long-term fuel development program. The rationale for such a program is not easily found in the literature, so the authors have suggested a structure and rationale. The approach is described as four phases, with emphasis on selecting a reference fuel concept, evaluating and improving the fuel to develop a fuel specification for a reference design, obtaining data to support a licensing safety case for the fuel, and final qualification of the fuel for a specific application. Because a fuel program requires long-lead-time irradiation testing, bringing a fuel design from the initial concept through licensing might take over 20 years.