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Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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Center for Used Fuel Research: Building confidence in storage and transport
Used nuclear fuel storage and transportation have reached a critical juncture.
Dozens of utilities need reliable data on how used nuclear fuel performs in dry storage casks and canisters to extend regulatory licenses at sites across the United States. Likewise, the Department of Energy expects to take ownership of the used nuclear fuel—termed “spent nuclear fuel” in the laws and regulations governing its stewardship—and transfer it to one or more federal staging facilities for management and disposition.
Meanwhile, dozens of reactor companies are testing prototypes of advanced reactors and advanced reactor fuels. Eventually, regulators and industry must also verify the safety and security of storage methods for these advanced fuel types.
To help address these challenges, the DOE established the Center for Used Fuel Research (CUFR) in January 2026 for work related to the long-term storage and transport of used nuclear fuel.
Technical Session|Sponsored by IRD
Monday, June 12, 2023|3:15–5:00PM EDT|Marriott 9
Session Chair:
Brenden J. Heidrich
Session Organizer:
Alternate Chair:
Lei R. Cao
The DRIFT series of experiments at Idaho National Laboratory’s TREAT transient testing facility explored pellet cracking behavior in ceramic UO2 fuel pellets at LWR-relevant conditions to create data to support modeling and simulation of fuel performance. This session will march through the irradiation testing process to highlight the steps required to turn a hypothesis into an irradiation test that can produce usable data. The DRIFT-UO2 experiment at TREAT is based on the IRP-16-10905 - Heng Ben (PITT), Mary Lou Dunzig-Gougar (ISU), “Transient Reactor (TREAT) Experiments to Validate MBM Fuel Performance Simulations” https://neup.inl.gov/SiteAssets/FY%202016%20Abstracts/IRP/IRP-16-10905_TechnicalAbstract_2016CFAAbstract10905.pdf Benjamin Spencer, et al., “Dry in-pile fracture test (DRIFT) for separate-effects validation of ceramic fuel fracture models,” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 568 (2022), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2022.153816
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Structure and Process of Managing the UO2 Dry In-Pile Fracture Test Irradiation Experiment
3:15–3:35PM EDT
Leigh A. Astle (INL), Trevor J. Smuin (INL)
Paper
Neutronics Programmatic and Safety Evaluation of the DRIFT Experiment in TREAT
3:35–3:55PM EDT
Connie M. Hill (INL)
Research Objectives and Findings from the DRIFT Experiments
3:55–4:15PM EDT
Benjamin Spencer (INL), Nicolas E. Woolstenhulme (INL), Jason L. Schulthess (INL), Austin D. Fleming (INL)
Experiment Safety Analysis Process for the DRIFT Irradiation Experiment at TREAT
4:15–4:35PM EDT
Sterling S. Morrill (INL)
