The Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy has awarded National Science User Facilities (NSUF) access to 18 Super Rapid Turnaround Experiment (Super RTE) projects. The awarded facility access is valued at approximately $2.7 million.

The Super RTE projects will support nuclear fuels and materials research, the deployment of new nuclear reactors, and the continued operation of existing reactors. The teams will be led by researchers from 11 institutions representing three national laboratories, seven universities, and one industry partner.

According to the announcement, materials being studied include promising metallic fuels, structural alloys, cladding, graphite moderators, and sensor materials.

Expanded scope: The Super RTE awards provide nuclear energy researchers with access to experimental irradiation testing, postirradiation examination, high-performance computing, and technical and scientific expertise.

While traditional RTE awards provide access to NSUF partner facilities for projects that must be completed within nine months, Super RTEs give researchers up to 12 months to complete their projects and roughly double the allowable facility access time.

Like traditional RTEs, Super RTEs are intended to perform irradiation effects studies of limited scope and provide timely results to the research community; however, the Super RTE structure allows for studies with larger scope. The DOE awarded its first round of Super RTEs in 2024.

The awards: The 18 projects selected for Super RTE awards could "support nuclear fuels and corrosion-resistant materials for molten salt and advanced reactors, improve structural material resilience to extend reactor lifetimes, increase understanding of irradiation-assisted degradation mechanisms, and develop radiation-tolerant sensing materials," according to the announcement.

The principal investigators represent Idaho, Oak Ridge, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratories; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; University of Alabama-Birmingham; University of Florida, University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign; University of Michigan-Ann Arbor; University of North Texas; University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Oklo.

The projects will evaluate irradiated materials subjected to different doses, temperatures, exposure times, and manufacturing methods. Researchers will characterize samples using mechanical testing, microstructural analysis, and microscopy techniques.

Deadline approaching: Proposals for the next round of RTE funding are due November 9.