ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Nuclear Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
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.
L. K. Heung, H. T. Sessions, A. S. Poore, W. D. Jacobs, C. S. Williams
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 54 | Number 2 | August 2008 | Pages 399-402
Technical Paper | Isotope Separation | doi.org/10.13182/FST08-33
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A thermal cycling absorption process (TCAP) for hydrogen isotope separation has been in operation at Savannah River Site since 1994. The process uses a hot/cold nitrogen system to cycle the temperature of the separation column. The hot/cold nitrogen system requires the use of large compressors, heat exchanges, valves and piping that is bulky and maintenance intensive. A new compact thermal cycling (CTC) design has recently been developed. This new design uses liquid nitrogen tubes and electric heaters to heat and cool the column directly so that the bulky hot/cold nitrogen system can be eliminated. This CTC design is simple and is easy to implement, and will be the next generation TCAP system at SRS. A twelve-meter column has been fabricated and installed in the laboratory to demonstrate its performance. The design of the system and its test results to date is discussed.
