Abstract
We review the state of modeling and simulation of nuclear fuels with emphasis on the most
widely used nuclear fuel, UO2. The hierarchical scheme presented represents a science-based
approach to modeling nuclear fuels by progressively passing information in several stages from
ab initio to continuum levels. Such an approach is essential to overcome the challenges posed by
radioactive materials handling, experimental limitations in modeling extreme conditions and
accident scenarios and small time and distance scales of fundamental defect processes. When
used in conjunction with experimental validation, this multiscale modeling scheme can provide
valuable guidance to development of fuel for advanced reactors to meet rising global energy
demand.
