The Materials Modelling and Simulation for Nuclear Fuels (MMSNF) Workshop is a forum to discuss state-of-the-art modelling and simulation techniques for nuclear fuels and cladding materials, following a multiscale paradigm. The 2023 edition focused on the alignment of multi-scale modelling approaches developed for nuclear fuels with the experimental programmes to enhance understanding of modern fuels and accelerate the design and qualification cycle of advanced reactor fuel materials.
The 2023 edition was jointly hosted by the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) and McMaster University, with the sponsorship of Ontario Power Generation and the CNL, and the co-sponsorship of the Nuclear Energy Agency, in connection with the activities developed in the Expert Group on Fuel Materials (EGFM). The workshop series focuses on open discussions of the challenges and opportunities associated with nuclear fuel modelling, grouping sessions by length and timescale. This was the first workshop in the series since the COVID-19 pandemic and brought together over 40 attendees in person, and another 18 online, from more than 32 institutions from 8 countries.
The discussions covered topics such as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in nuclear fuels modelling, the challenges of scale integration in a multi-scale approach and the coupling needs to include sensitivity analysis and the transferability of existing modelling approaches at different scales to new applications or designs for new reactors and the possibility to better exploit separate effect tests to accelerate fuel qualification. A summary of the discussion and all abstracts will be provided in an NEA report.
