Fission, Fusion Materials Facility
CONTACT
- Jack Shlachter
- (505) 665-1888
Revolutionizing Microstructural Physics to Empower Nuclear Energy
MaRIE's Fission Fusion Materials Facility (F3) combines a unique neutron irradiation environment much like that found inside a nuclear reactor with sophisticated in situ diagnostics to "watch damage happen" in materials. This approach to studying materials behavior in a radiation environment will revolutionize our understanding of microstructural physics and significantly accelerate the development of next-generation reactor fuels and structural components.
Materials are the immediate priority of both the fission and fusion communities. Extending the lifetime of the current fleet of light water reactors depends on understanding how the materials fail as they age. There are many ideas for a new generation of power reactors that may operate at higher operating temperatures. There is also attraction to using new fuel types that can burn fuel more efficiently, thus extending the time between refuelings of the reactor and extracting more of the energy potential of the fuel.