Innovative core design for ASTRID with reduced sodium void effect - Credit: CEA

INSPYRE, a project fully supported and endorsed by the EERA Joint Programme on Nuclear Materials, focusses on the investigation of fast reactor MOX fuel to support the licensing of the start-up cores of the ESNII reactor prototypes.

INSPYRE will:

Use carefully designed separate effect (modelling and experimental) investigations to accurately describe basic phenomena occurring in the fuel with sound physical models, expanding empirical fuel behaviour knowledge gained in the past in irradiation tests and post irradiation examinations
Characterize selected key irradiated fuel samples to fill clearly identified knowledge gaps
Combine and leverage basic and technological research to enhance and extend the reliability range of traditionally deduced empirical laws governing performance of nuclear fuels under irradiation
Implement the new models and data obtained in the fuel performance codes used for the design of the European Sustainable Nuclear Industrial Initiative (ESNII) systems and apply the improved codes to ESNII relevant conditions.

Coordinated by Marjorie Bertolus, CEA (FR)

The impacts of the INSPYRE project will be many. Fuel is at the heart of nuclear reactor systems, but its qualification and licensing is challenging due to the complex coupled phenomena (physical, chemical, radiation, thermal and mechanical) induced by fission. INSPYRE represents a paradigm shift. It will enable a timely, facilitated and cost effective licensing of fast reactor fuels, only achievable by generating validated simulation tools capable of limiting qualification to punctual dedicated irradiation experiments. Of foremost importance is the relevant and efficient leveraging of past knowledge, technological and basic science approaches to extend the applicability of codes.

INSPYRE is composed of 7 technical work packages

The pinnacle is WP7, which implements new models and data in the codes, benchmarks and validates them for application under conditions relevant to the ESNII prototypes
It is directly supported by WP5 and 6. The latter focuses on the improved models to extend the reliability regime of empirical laws using results obtained in INSPYRE and in other projects. The former combines separate effects, basic research and advanced PIE studies to underpin mechanisms of fast reactor fuel behaviour
Finally four WPs underpin the programme by tackling operational issues: Margin to fuel melting, atom transport and fission product behaviour, evolution of mechanical properties under irradiation, fuel thermochemistry and fuel interaction with the cladding. This is achieved via basic research investigations combining separate effect experiments, characterization of neutron-irradiated fuels, multiscale modelling and thermodynamic modelling

The project also includes 3 work packages focusing on

Education and training exchange
Communication, dissemination and exploitation of results
Project management

The objective of INSPYRE will be achieved by a well-balanced consortium from universities, research and industrial organisations already collaborating in the EERA JPNM, further augmented by a dedicated user group stemming from ESNII representatives, technical safety organizations, utilities and fuel vendors.

Coordinated by Marjorie Bertolus, CEA (FR)