Nuclear and radioactivity studies

Ensuring that nuclear fuel and radioactive waste can be produced, moved, stored, and eventually disposed of without harming people or the environment requires a discipline that sits at the intersection of physics, structural engineering, and regulatory science. Researchers in this area analyze how transport casks withstand mechanical shocks, how spacer grids maintain fuel assembly geometry under accident conditions, and how radiation doses to workers and the public can be kept within acceptable limits across the entire fuel cycle. A persistent challenge is developing safety analysis methods—often relying on finite element modeling—that are accurate and computationally tractable enough to support regulatory decisions for new cask designs or extended spent-fuel storage periods. Open questions include how to better characterize uncertainty in long-term radioactive waste behavior and how to update probabilistic risk frameworks as reactor fleets age and operating conditions evolve.

Works

157,457

Total citations

311,462

Keywords

Nuclear FuelRadiation ProtectionSpent FuelTransport CaskRadioactive Waste ManagementSafety Analysis