The Working Party on Materials Science Issues in Nuclear Fuels and Structural Materials (WPFM) of the Nuclear Science Committee has been recently established with the objectives to connect modelling and simulation (M&S) analysis across different scales, to introduce machine learning approaches in the analysis, and to build closer links between M&S and experimental activities.
The WPFM and the two Expert Groups, on Fuel Materials (EGFM) and on Structural Materials (EGSM), met on 23-25 May at the NEA for the first in-person WPFM week. More than 50 participants from 13 NEA member countries discussed the ongoing work and future activities. Joint sessions provided an opportunity to share best practices in nuclear materials microstructural characterisation techniques, exchange views on cross-cutting activities within then WPFM, and further develop synergies with the NEA Second Framework for Irradiation Experiments (FIDES-II).
Other topics of interest to the group included materials ageing, materials acceleration platforms and high-entropy alloys, AI/ML for nuclear fuels, separate effect validation of fuel micro-mechanical models, thermodynamic data collection and gap analysis to identify needs for modelling and experiments on fuels and materials.
