Nuclear Fuel Development
- Passionately working on improving mechanical and thermal performance of accident tolerant fuel (ATF) for LWR. Actively exploring safer and reliable fuel forms with higher uranium density and enhanced oxidation resistance.
- Synthesized UO2 pellets with spark plasma sintering (SPS) and studied the grain size effect on its mechanical properties at elevated temperatures with nano- and microindentation testing.
- Manufactured commercial-size UO2 with SPS. Conducted microstructure and microchemical analysis to examine the uniformity of its density, grain size, and stoichiometry, demonstrating the potential of SPS to fabricate nuclear fuels cost-effectively.
- Analyzed additive impact on the thermal conductivity, mechanical property, and oxidation resistance of U3Si2. The additives include Cr, BeO, Al, and UO2.
- Derived oxidation activation energy of microcrystalline and nanocrystalline U3Si2 via kinetic analysis and isothermal TGA testing.
- Assessed the stability of Cr doped and Cr+Al doped U3Si2 in H2O containing atmospheres with ramping/isothermal steam testing and evaluated the degradation mechanism of U3Si2 in H2O.
- Studied thermal-induced and irradiation-induced grain growth of U3Si2 and derived the corresponding activation energies.
- Investigated irradiation-induced amorphization and subdivision of U3Si2, along with the analysis of bubble formation and growth under the bombardment of Xe and Kr.
- Generated machine learning and regression models to examine the factors that govern the leaching behavior of pyrochlore, which can be used to predict and validate leaching experiment results.
- Familiar with characterization tools, such as SEM, TEM, and XRD. Frequently employed focused ion beam (FIB) to manufacture TEM samples.