Current knowledge of the nuclear physics of fuels and materials provides an understanding and simulation of the operations of nuclear reactors and other systems, both under ordinary and exceptional circumstances. As part of a broad spectrum of collaborative activities underpinning research in...

The implementation of advanced nuclear systems requires that new technologies associated with the back end of the fuel cycle are developed. The separation of minor actinides from other fuel components is one of the advanced concepts being studied to help close the nuclear fuel cycle and to...

As part of a broader spectrum of collaborative activities underpinning nuclear materials research, the Nuclear Energy Agency is supporting worldwide efforts towards the development of advanced materials, including fuels for partitioning and transmutation purposes and accident-tolerant fuels...

Development of innovative fuels such as homogeneous and heterogeneous fuels, ADS fuels, and oxide, metal, nitride and carbide fuels is an important stage in the implementation process of advanced nuclear systems. Several national and international R&D programmes are investigating minor...

Since the beginning of the nuclear era, significant scientific attention has been given to thorium’s potential as a nuclear fuel. Although the thorium fuel cycle has never been fully developed, the opportunities and challenges that might arise from the use of thorium in the nuclear fuel cycle...

Spent nuclear fuel contains minor actinides (MAs) such as neptunium, americium and curium, which require careful management. This becomes even more important when mixed oxide (MOX) fuel is being used on a large scale since more MAs will accumulate in the spent fuel. One way to manage these MAs...

Heavy liquid metals such as lead or lead-bismuth have been proposed and investigated as coolants for fast reactors since the 1950s. More recently, there has been renewed interest worldwide in the use of these materials to support the development of systems for the transmutation of radioactive...

Particle accelerators have evolved over the last decades from simple devices to powerful machines and are having an increasingly important impact on research, technology and daily life. Today, they have a wide range of applications in many areas including material science and medical...

Materials performance is critical to the safe and economic operation of any nuclear system. As the international community pursues the development of Generation IV reactor concepts and accelerator driven transmutation systems, it will be increasingly necessary to develop advanced materials...