Dr. Walid Mohamed

Research and Test Reactor Department, Nuclear Engineering Division
Argonne National Laboratory

Abstract

The Fuel Development and Qualification Section at ANL is supporting various programs under the umbrella of the DOE Office of Material Management and Minimization (M3). The first part of this seminar will highlight experimental and computational efforts and approaches relevant to the development of U-Mo based fuels as an emerging candidate for the conversion of research and test reactor from highly-enriched uranium (HEU) to low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel (enrichment < 20%). Examples of these activities are: (1) the establishment of a unique Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) facility at ANL for the deposition of ZrN coating on U-Mo fuel particles, (2) conducting ion irradiation experiments to evaluate the efficiency of the ZrN coating in terms of mechanical integrity and the ability to reduce the formation of interaction layer (IL) between the fuel matrix and fuel particles, (3) fresh and irradiated fuel micro-structural characterization performed at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) and the Intermediate Voltage Electron Microscopy (IVEM) Tandem facility at ANL, (4) multi-scale modeling efforts to understand the overall fuel behavior based on the experimental findings.

The second part of this seminar will focus on finite element modeling efforts at ANL in support of the U.S. High Performance Research Reactor (USHPRR) conversion programs. Finite element analysis (FEA) is used to evaluate effects of a variety of geometrical and operational parameters on the thermo-mechanical behavior and irradiation performance of U-10Mo monolithic fuel. Materials behavioral models and correlations are implemented in a 3D coupled thermo-mechanical finite element model to represent the three components of the fuel: U-10Mo fuel foil, Zr diffusion barrier and Al-6061O cladding. Examples of FEA based studies will be presented with focus on the recent evaluation of the effect of post-fabrication voids on the performance of monolithic fuel plates. The outcomes of that study played an important role in the qualification of these fuel plates to be included in the European Mini Plate Irradiation Experiment (EMPIrE) which is being irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL).

Biography

Dr. Walid Mohamed is a Materials scientist in the Nuclear Engineering Division at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). Dr. Mohamed holds a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering (2012) and a master of material science and engineering (2009) from NC State University in addition to a bachelor degree (2002) and a master degree (2005) both in nuclear engineering from Alexandria University, Egypt. In his PhD work at NC State University, he worked under supervision of Prof. K.L. Murty and Jacob Eapen to investigate the effects of neutron irradiation on nanostructured materials.

Dr. Mohamed is interested in the development and characterization of nuclear structural and fuel materials through experimental and computational techniques. He is currently involved in various experimental and computational research activities supporting Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Material Management and Minimization (M3) Conversion Program focusing on the conversion of high performance research reactor to low enrichment uranium. Dr. Mohamed is leading the finite element modeling and analysis efforts at ANL in support of the U.S. High Performance Research Reactor (USHPRR) conversion programs.