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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.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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Fusion Science and Technology
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General Kenneth Nichols and the Manhattan Project
Nichols
The Oak Ridger has published the latest in a series of articles about General Kenneth D. Nichols, the Manhattan Project, and the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. The series has been produced by Nichols’ grandniece Barbara Rogers Scollin and Oak Ridge (Tenn.) city historian David Ray Smith. Gen. Nichols (1907–2000) was the district engineer for the Manhattan Engineer District during the Manhattan Project.
As Smith and Scollin explain, Nichols “had supervision of the research and development connected with, and the design, construction, and operation of, all plants required to produce plutonium-239 and uranium-235, including the construction of the towns of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland, Washington. The responsibility of his position was massive as he oversaw a workforce of both military and civilian personnel of approximately 125,000; his Oak Ridge office became the center of the wartime atomic energy’s activities.”
G. R. Smolik, B. J. Merrill, S. J. Piet, D. F. Holland
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 19 | Number 3 | May 1991 | Pages 1342-1348
Result of Large Experiment and Plasma Engineering | doi.org/10.13182/FST91-A29529
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper presents the results of an experimental/analytical study designed to determine the quantity of hydrogen generated during an accident involving coolant leakage into the plasma chamber of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). This hydrogen could represent a potential explosive hazard, provided the proper conditions exist, causing machine damage and release of radioactive material. We measured graphite/steam reaction rates for several graphites and carbon-based composites at temperatures between 1000 and 1700°C. The effects of steam flow rate and partial pressure were also examined. The measured reaction rates correlated well with two Arrhenius type relationships. We used the relationships for GraphNOL N3M in a thermal model to determine that for ITER the quantity of hydrogen produced would range between 5 and 35 kg, depending upon how the graphite tiles are attached to the first wall. While 5 kg is not a significant concern, 35 kg presents an explosive hazard.
