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Division Spotlight
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
Meeting Spotlight
ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
Standards Program
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Feb 2025
Jul 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
February 2025
Latest News
Colin Judge: Testing structural materials in Idaho’s newest hot cell facility
Idaho National Laboratory’s newest facility—the Sample Preparation Laboratory (SPL)—sits across the road from the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF), which started operating in 1975. SPL will host the first new hot cells at INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) in 50 years, giving INL researchers and partners new flexibility to test the structural properties of irradiated materials fresh from the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) or from a partner’s facility.
Materials meant to withstand extreme conditions in fission or fusion power plants must be tested under similar conditions and pushed past their breaking points so performance and limitations can be understood and improved. Once irradiated, materials samples can be cut down to size in SPL and packaged for testing in other facilities at INL or other national laboratories, commercial labs, or universities. But they can also be subjected to extreme thermal or corrosive conditions and mechanical testing right in SPL, explains Colin Judge, who, as INL’s division director for nuclear materials performance, oversees SPL and other facilities at the MFC.
SPL won’t go “hot” until January 2026, but Judge spoke with NN staff writer Susan Gallier about its capabilities as his team was moving instruments into the new facility.
Technical Session
Wednesday, May 11, 2022|10:30AM–12:30PM EDT|Calypso
Session Chair:
Michael B. Smith (ORNL)
Session Organizer:
Alternate Chair:
Lee S. Mason (NASA)
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Scaling Comparison of NEP vs. SEP for Cislunar Space
Marc A. Gibson (Space Nuclear Power Corp.), David I. Poston (Space Nuclear Power Corp.), Patrick McClure (Space Nuclear Power Corp.)
Paper
A Small Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator for Operation on Venus: A Feasibility Study
Michael J. Durka (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Eric Poliquin (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Jong-Ah Paik (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Vladimir Jovovic (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Jean-Pierre Fleurial (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
Planetary Science Decadal Survey: Planetary Mission Concepts Utilizing Radioisotope Power Systems
Young Lee (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Brian Bairstow (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Benji Donitz (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Jim Kinnison (Johns Hopkins APL), Anthony Nicoletti (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)
A Comparison of Alternative Space Nuclear Power Conversion Technologies
Bryant Hawkes (Aerospace Corp.)
Presented by W. Randy Bell (Aerospace Corp.)
Molten Salt Lattice Confinement Fusion (LCF) Fast Fission Reactor for Lunar and Planetary Surface Power
Lawrence Forsley (Global Energy Corp.), Theresa Benyo (NASA Glenn Research Center), Pamela Mosier-Boss (Global Energy Corp.), Leonard Dudzinski (NASA Headquarters), Mathew Deminico (NASA Glenn Research Center)
Qualification of a New Surface Profilometer for Radioisotope Power Systems Special Component Manufacturing and Testing Program
Rex Veach, Jr. (ORNL), Glenn Romanoski (ORNL), George Ulrich (ORNL), Brian Friske (Y-12 National Security Complex), Dean Freeman (ORNL)
Safety Studies for the ESA Radioisotope Power Systems
Alessandra Barco (Univ. Leicester), Richard M. Ambrosi (Univ. Leicester), Jean-Luc Dumont (ArianeGroup), Yann Guguin (ArianeGroup), Pierre Brunet (ArianeGroup), Keith Stephenson (ESA/ESTEC TEC-EP)
Radiation Damage from Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) Neutrons in the Dragonfly Gamma-Ray and Neutron Spectrometer (DraGNS)
Z. W. Yokley (Johns Hopkins APL), N.R. Hines (LLNL), M.T. Burks (LLNL), P.N. Peplowski (Johns Hopkins APL), D.J. Lawrence (Johns Hopkins APL), J.T. Wilson (Johns Hopkins APL), C.W. Parker (Johns Hopkins APL), J.O. Goldsten (Johns Hopkins APL)
Nonproliferation Opportunities for Using HALEU in Space Nuclear Reactors
Thomas Gray (PNNL), Thomas Harrison (PNNL), Kathleen Doty (PNNL)
Presented by Brittany N. Robertson (PNNL)
Microsphere 238PuO2 for Small Modular Radioisotope Power Systems
Jeffrey A. Katalenich (PNNL), Bradley R. Johnson (ORNL)
Radioisotope Powered Melting Probe for Europa Exploration
Calin Tarau (Advanced Cooling Technologies), Kuan-Lin Lee (Advanced Cooling Technologies), Krishna Chetty (Advanced Cooling Technologies), Andy Lutz (Advanced Cooling Technologies), Srujan Rokkam (Advanced Cooling Technologies)
Update on Performance of MMRTG F1 on Curiosity
Christofer E. Whiting (Univ. Dayton)
Radioisotope Power Systems and Their Potential Benefits to Planetary Protection
Michael B.R. Smith (ORNL), Lawrence H. Heilbronn (Univ. Tennessee, Knoxville), Harrison L. Line (Univ. Tennessee, Knoxville), Noel A. Nelson (ORNL), Douglas E. Peplow (ORNL), Mathew W. Swinney (ORNL)
Start-Up and Load-Following Analysis of a kW-Class Hydride-Moderated Reactor
Vedant K. Mehta (LANL), Dasari V. Rao (LANL)
Rolls-Royce Space Reactor Roadmap
Daniel Thatcher (Rolls-Royce), Oliver Ward (Rolls-Royce), Gary Jones (Rolls-Royce)
Canadian Capabilities Related to Space Nuclear Power Systems
Brent Wilhelm (Natural Resources Canada), Rinat Rashapov (Canadian Space Agency), Ali Siddiqui (Canadian Nuclear Laboratories), William Mackey (Canadian Space Agency), Micah Melnyk (Natural Resources Canada), Antoine de la Chevrotière (Natural Resources Canada), Daniel Brady (Natural Resources Canada)
Integration of Radiation Tolerance and Component Reliability into Space Nuclear Systems
Scott Mahar (General Atomics), Christopher Nicklaw (General Atomics)
An Update on the Development of the Skutterudite-Based Thermoelectric Technology for Integration into a Potential Enhanced Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (eMMRTG)
T. Caillat (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), S. Pinkowski (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), I. Chi (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), J. Paik (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), B. Phan (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), T. Holgate (Teledyne Energy Systems), Y. Song (Teledyne Energy Systems), J. VanderVeer (Teledyne Energy Systems), R. Bennett (Teledyne Energy Systems), S. Keyser (Teledyne Energy Systems), Andrew Lane (Aerojet Rocketdyne), K. Wefers (Aerojet Rocketdyne), P. Frye (Aerojet Rocketdyne)
Path to Skutterudite Based Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator Flight Qualification Unit
A. Lane (Aerojet Rocketdyne), W. Otting (Aerojet Rocketdyne), K. Wefers (Aerojet Rocketdyne), P. Frye (Aerojet Rocketdyne), J. VanderVeer (Teledyne Energy Systems), R. Bennett (Teledyne Energy Systems), S. Keyser (Teledyne Energy Systems), S. Pinkowski (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), T. Caillat (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
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