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Materials Science & Technology
The objectives of MSTD are: promote the advancement of materials science in Nuclear Science Technology; support the multidisciplines which constitute it; encourage research by providing a forum for the presentation, exchange, and documentation of relevant information; promote the interaction and communication among its members; and recognize and reward its members for significant contributions to the field of materials science in nuclear technology.
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2024 ANS Winter Conference and Expo
November 17–21, 2024
Orlando, FL|Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Latest News
PNNL seeks high-energy neutrons from SpaceX launch of Polaris Dawn
When a SpaceX rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on September 10 (see video here), sending a crewed commercial mission into low Earth orbit, an experiment designed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory was onboard. Several high-purity metal samples will orbit Earth and absorb cosmic radiation for five days—including that from the Van Allen radiation belt—to help the lab answer questions about the radiation environment for manned space missions, according to a news release from PNNL.
O. G. Romanenko, K. J. Allen, D. M. Wachs, H. P. Planchon, P. B. Wells, J. A. Michelbacher, P. Nazarenko, I. Dumchev, V. Maev, B. Zemtzev, L. Tikhomirov, V. Yakovlev, A. Synkov
Nuclear Technology | Volume 150 | Number 1 | April 2005 | Pages 79-99
Technical Paper | Sodium Technology | doi.org/10.13182/NT05-A3607
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper reports the successful design and operation of a system to remove highly radioactive cesium from the sodium coolant of the BN-350 reactor in Aktau, Kazakhstan. As an international effort between the United States and the Republic of Kazakhstan, a cesium-trapping system was jointly designed, fabricated, installed, and successfully operated. The results are significant for a number of reasons, including (a) a significant reduction of radioactivity levels of the BN-350 coolant and reactor surfaces, thereby reducing exposure to workers during shutdown operations; (b) demonstration of scientific ideas; and (c) the engineering application of effective cesium trap deployment for commercial-sized liquid-metal reactors. About 255 300 GBq (6900 Ci) of cesium was trapped, and the 137Cs specific activity in BN-350 primary sodium was decreased from 296 MBq/kg (8000 Ci/kg) to 0.37 MBq/kg (10 Ci/kg) by using seven cesium traps containing reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) as the cesium adsorbent. Cesium trapping was accomplished by pumping sodium from the primary circuit, passing it through a block of RVC within each trap, and returning the cleaned sodium to the primary circuit. Both to predict and to analyze the behavior of the cesium traps in the BN-350 reactor primary circuit, a model was developed that satisfactorily describes the observed results of the cesium trapping. By using this model, thermodynamic parameters, such as the heat of adsorption of cesium atoms on RVC and on internal piping surfaces of the BN-350 reactor primary circuit, -22.7 and -5.0 kJ/mole, respectively, were extracted from the experimental data.