Fuel Material

In the areas of Fuel Materials we offer the following products and services:

Annual programme
Seminars
Handbooks and reports
Consulting services to resolve problems/issues
ANT International Wikipedia (AWIKI)

Click on the specific product/service for more information.

Annual Nuclear Fuel Materials Programmes

IZNA / ZIRAT

There are two different annual fuel assembly material programmes focused:

Zirconium Alloy Technology Programme (ZIRAT) which is open to nuclear utilities only. In total, 32 organisations were members in 2013, representing more than 111 nuclear units worldwide. This programme was started in 1996.
Information on Zirconium Alloy Technology (IZNA) Programme which is open to fuel vendors, regulators and research laboratories.

The overall objectives of the ZIRAT/IZNA Programmes are to enable the Members to:

Identify potential zirconium alloy material advantages and limitations as well as suggest fixes for current issues.
Gain increased understanding of material behaviour related to successful core operation.

Seminars

We provide 10-15 seminars worldwide every year. There are different types of Seminars:

Tailored Seminars

Tailored Seminars on site of the Customer. The topics are selected by the Customer to fit their needs. Below are some characteristics of the Tailored Seminars:

The length varies from one to three days.
Your organisation pays one price – regardless of the number of attendants.
Your organisation can invite attendees from other organisations in your country/region if this is discussed on beforehand with the lecturer, as an effective way of cost sharing.
The topics of the Seminar are tailored to fit the needs of your organisation company.
All participants receive a CD with the presentation material before the seminar and a certificate after completing the seminar.
The tailored seminars are suitable for specialised engineers as well as engineers entering a new field.

ZIRCONIUM ALLOY TECHNOLOGY (ZIRAT) SEMINARS

A 2.5 day Seminar targeted towards more experienced engineers is included in the ZIRAT programme to present the most recent published reports within the ZIRAT programme by the authors.

ANT INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY (ANTIA) SEMINAR

There are 4 different Seminars, the first Seminar is an introduction to Fuel Material while Seminars No. 2–4 are in-depth seminars on specific topics. Below are some characteristics of the Seminars:

The length is four days.
There is a fixed fee for each participant from each organisations but discounts are given for several participants from the same organisation.
Before the Seminar, the background information and presentation material will be made available to the participants.
After the Seminar, a certificate of seminar attendance will be issued by ANT International to the participants.

SEMINARS ASSOCIATED WITH HANDBOOKS

In relation to the Handbooks on Fuel Design Review and Fuel Fabrication Process two different Seminars are provided.

Handbooks & Reports

ANT International has up to now published more than 20 different Handbooks/Reports (200–500 pages each) on current structural material degradation issues. Each Handbook/Report is delivered as a high resolution searchable pdf-file on a CD-ROM and an optional hardbound 4 colour print. The electronic version of the Handbook/Report can be uploaded on a company server to allow all staff having access to the information. The customers are free to use all information, including figures/tables in the Handbooks/Reports within the company as well as for external publications.

Problem Solving

ANT International can provide expertise in the BWR/PWR plant chemistry and fuel design/manufacturing/performance areas. ANT International has noticed that customers would like to have some limited support (2-4 weeks) from experts and ANT International can provide such services. Dependent on the issue, we set up the perfect team of experts to resolve the issue. ANT International has provided this type of expert services during several years in the fuel area.

Examples of services performed:

Performance evaluation of new Zr alloy materials
Fuel Design Reviews
Auditing of Fuel Fabrication
Fuel failure root cause assessment and remedies

ANT International can now offer similar services in the plant chemistry area.

AWIKI

To quickly find the information you are looking for, ANT International has developed a Nuclear Wikipedia, AWIKI, based upon the Reports we have published. The AWIKI has similar structure as the Wikipedia with a powerful search tool to quickly retrieve the information you are interested in. The AWIKI will also direct you (via links) to information/reports with much more details. For each topic, all the relevant references are listed as well as suggestions on additional information contained in the ZIRAT/IZNA/LCC reports. The additional information is provided as pdf-files at the bottom of the topic to facilitate fast and easy access to the relevant information. The AWIKI is continuously updated with the most recent information. Only ZIRAT, IZNA or LCC Members can sign up for a subscription of the AWIKI.

The Experts

The A.N.T. International Network of experts providing the Products and Services were the leaders of the nuclear technical community that developed the current nuclear industry. A.N.T. International and the Network are independent, i.e., they do not rely on fuel/reactor vendors and the information provided in our products and services is unbiased and analysed with a bird eyes view on the business.