| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
MS&T24: Materials Science & Technology
|
| Symposium
|
Thermodynamics of Materials in Extreme Environments
|
| Presentation Title |
Exploring Actinide Molten Salts with Density Functional Theory |
| Author(s) |
Benjamin W. Beeler, Kai Duemmler, David Andersson, Cecilia Harrison, Ethan Wilson |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Benjamin W. Beeler |
| Abstract Scope |
Molten salts are being considered both as a coolant and as a fuel for advanced nuclear reactor systems. There is a present knowledge gap in the thermophysical properties of molten salts, particularly related to actinide salts, which limits the readiness level of advanced molten salt reactors (MSRs). ab initio molecular dynamics is a common method employed to investigate the structural and thermophysical properties at elevated temperatures utilizing density functional theory (DFT). While DFT studies on molten salts have dramatically increased in recent years, there remains a lack of fundamental understanding as to how various molten salts should actually be computationally described. This work highlights cross-code and cross-dispersion results for actinide molten salts, providing a framework for future consistent and coherent descriptions of MSR salts utilizing DFT. |