Rising global energy demand and the adverse environmental impact of energy use have led to renewed interest in nuclear power. Novel materials and approaches are needed to advance the utilization of nuclear energy in a manner consistent with the goals of proliferation resistance, energy security and waste reduction. This book brings together experimenters, theoreticians and modelers to discuss the innovations needed to develop the next generation of nuclear materials, and to understand the performance of existing materials under extreme operating conditions. Presentations explore the fabrication (melting, rolling sol gel, sintering, hot-pressing), characterization (microscopy, diffraction, thermal and electrical property measurements), modeling (ranging from nano- to mesoscale, and spanning timeframes ranging from fractions of femtoseconds to hundreds or millions of years), and performance predictions of various nuclear fuel cycle materials.

Symposium HH, 'Advances in Materials for Nuclear Energy', was held November 25-30 at the 2012 MRS Fall Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. As the world faces steadily rising energy demand and cost, nuclear energy produced by fission and fusion reactors is increasingly recognised as an economically viable and carbon-neutral alternative to fossil energy sources. With new reactor concepts pursuing passive safety mechanisms and better performance, the behaviour of structural materials and fuel is at the forefront of challenges in the development of promising reactor ideas. Accordingly, the research and development activities in nuclear materials and fuel areas have substantially increased over the last few years. The goal of this symposium was to provide a forum for the discussion of materials limitations and new developments in the field of nuclear fission and fusion energy on an experimental and modeling platform. This volume represents recent advances in materials for nuclear energy applications.

Rising global energy demand and the adverse environmental impact of energy use have led to renewed interest in nuclear power. Novel materials and approaches are needed to advance the utilization of nuclear energy in a manner consistent with the goals of proliferation resistance, energy security and waste reduction. This book brings together experimenters, theoreticians and modelers to discuss the innovations needed to develop the next generation of nuclear materials, and to understand the performance of existing materials under extreme operating conditions. Presentations explore the fabrication (melting, rolling sol gel, sintering, hot-pressing), characterization (microscopy, diffraction, thermal and electrical property measurements), modeling (ranging from nano- to mesoscale, and spanning timeframes ranging from fractions of femtoseconds to hundreds or millions of years), and performance predictions of various nuclear fuel cycle materials.