Nuclear energy has an important role to play worldwide in the context of carbon-free economy and societal development. There has been a renaissance of nuclear energy worldwide in terms of the development of innovative fission and fusion reactors. Among various parameters, nuclear fuels play an important role for economic and safe operation on nuclear reactors. Development of well characterized fuels and structural materials required for safe operation in the life time. Quality control, in terms of both structural and chemical characterization, during manufacturing and fabrication of these components is very critical and important. Towards taking stock of the latest developments in this domain, an international conference on “Characterization & Quality Control of Nuclear Fuels (CQCNF)” had been organized in November 2022 at Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), Hyderabad in collaboration with international Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna. There was an appreciable participation of delegates from various countries, with active support of IAEA. Domain experts and specialists presented their contributions during the conference on various topics. This includes presentations on fuels, structural materials ranging from zicaloys, austenitic, ferritic and ODS steels, specialized quality control and inspection techniques in visual, eddy current, ultrasonics methodologies. The present volume is a compilation of select contributions from the authors of CQCNF-2022, summarizing the latest developments in this important field.

Preface / Current Status and Future Perspectives in Processing of Clad Materials for Thermal and Fast Breeder Reactors for Improved Performance / Microstructure Development During Hot Deformation of Zr-4 Alloy / Structure-Property Correlation in Zirconium Alloy Appendage Welding for Manufacturing of PHWR Fuel Pins / High Temperature Steam Oxidation of Zr-2.5Nb Pressure Tube Material / Nodular Corrosion of Zirconium Base Alloys in Water, Steam and Gas –A review / Effect of Nature of Initial Oxide on Nodular Corrosion of Zr- 2.5Nb Material in Gas Phase / Effect of Processing Route on Mechanical Behaviour of Finned Aluminium Clad Tubes / Characterization of Phase Evolution in Commercial Alumina-Based Glass Sealant at High Temperature Using XRD Technique / Oxidation Experiments on Cr-coated Zircaloy-4 Samples / Delayed Hydride Cracking Behaviour of Zircaloy-4 Fuel Claddings / High-Temperature Steam Oxidation of Pre-oxidized Zircaloy-4 Cladding Tube / Study of the Effect of Anisotropy on the Fracture Resistance of Zr 2.5 Nb Pressure Tube of the Indian PHWR / Weldability of D9 with D9I / Process Improvement & Optimization of Process Parameters for Zircaloy-4 Bar Manufacturing / Effect of Water and Brine Cooling Rate During ß-quench on the Microstructure of Zr-1%Nb Alloy / Role of Uranium Measurement in Nuclear Fuel Fabrication Facilities / Process Modification for Decontamination of Active Gloves Devoid of Latent Fire Hazard / Safety, Remotization and Automation in Pu based Nuclear Fuel Fabrication / Feasibility Study for a 3D Mapping System of the Radiological and Mechanical Profile of Fuel Pin in Fast Reactors / Development of a High Temperature Capsule Based on Gas Gap Concept for Irradiation of Core Structural Material Specimens in FBTR / Development of Customized Laser Engraving System for Numbering of Fast Breeder Test Reactor Fuel Elements / Development of Innovative Technique for Treatment of Uranium Bearing Hydraulic Oil Encapsulation of Stainless Steel Capsule Inside Glove Box / Design and Development of Automated Bag In/Out System for Fuel Fabrication Facilities / Automatic Density Measurement System for Final Compacted PHWR UO2 Pellets / Development of Process Monitoring Checklist in Fuel Fabrication Facility by Prioritizing the Process Parameters Using Analytic Hierarchy Process / Study on the effect of Fe impurity in UNPS on UO2 Pellets / MOX Fuel Fabrication: Recent Trends and Future Perspectives / Deep Learning for Intelligent Inspection of End Plate Welding with PHWR Fuel Bundle / Design and Development of a High Pressure Chamber for the Laser Welding of Pressurised Capsule using Fast Reactor Cladding Material / Fabrication of Nb2O5 and MgO Doped High Density ThO2 Nuclear Fuels Pellets / Analysis of MOX Pellets for Hydrogen and Nitrogen Content Using Glove Box Adapted Twin Determinator System / Development of Induction Heating Coil Without Water Cooling for Metal Fuel Slug Casting System / Development of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) Model for Optimization of Welding Parameters of BWR Fuel Pins / Automation and Developments in PHWR Fuel Pellet Manufacturing / Direct Microwave Sintering of Natural UO2 pellets: Bulk Scale Experiments and Product Characterization / Novel Techniques for Recovery of Uranium from HEPA Filters Used in Fuel Fabrication Plants / Powder Conditioning & Tooling Development for High-Capacity Rotary Compaction Press / Separation of Radioactive Cs, Sb and Co from Zr: The Three-Step Ion Exchange Strategy for Decontamination of Pressure Tubes / Camera Based Remote Sorting System for Segregation of Solid and Annular Pellets / Development of Automated Machine Vision System for Slot Inspection of FBTR Top Plug / Triangulation based Metrology System for End Cap of PHWR Fuel Element / Installation and Commissioning of Micro-Focus Based X-Ray Source with Flat Panel Detector (FPD) and Manipulator / Development of Machine Vision Based Inspection System for Inspection of Chamfer on Clad Tube / Development of Quality Assurance Methodologies for Fabrication of Poison Sub-Assemblies of Fast Breeder Test Reactor / Automation and Indigenization in Quality Assurance of In-core Components and Structural for Indian PHWRs / Gamma Scanning of Irradiated Mixed Carbide Fuel Pins of FBTR Operated at Different LHRs and Burn-Ups / Design and Development of Machine Vision based Surface Inspection System for Metal Fuel Slugs / Experience in Quality Assurance on Mechanical Fabrication of Reprocessing & Waste Management Plants of Back end Nuclear Cycle Facilities.

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