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Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
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2027 ANS Winter Conference and Expo
October 31–November 4, 2027
Washington, DC|The Westin Washington, DC Downtown
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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
Texas-based WCS chosen to manage U.S.-generated mercury
A five-year, $17.8 million contract has been awarded to Waste Control Specialists for the long-term management and storage of elemental mercury, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management announced on November 21.
F. Durut, R. Botrel, E. Brun, S. Le Tacon, C. Chicanne, O. Vincent-Viry, M. Theobald, V. Vignal
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 70 | Number 2 | August-September 2016 | Pages 341-350
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST15-230
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Pure gold-copper alloys are known to be difficult to electrodeposit because of a strong variation in composition after a few microns have been deposited. Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA) studied the phenomenon and showed that the decrease in gold’s content is accompanied by an evolution of the microstructure that could be attributed to the free cyanide released near the cathode. During electrolysis, free cyanides provoke a decrease of the copper overpotential (until copper reduction is stopped) and promote the formation of Cu(CN)43− that conduct to an instantaneous three-dimensional nucleation of copper. This phenomenological model well explains why the growth mechanism changes and why only gold is deposited for thick deposits. On the basis of this model, CEA has developed a specific process using ultrasonic waves in order to remove the free cyanides from the cathode. This process allows CEA to perform thick gold-copper deposits with a constant concentration in copper through all the thickness. By controlling the applied potential, different thick alloys with a concentration of copper between 0 wt% up to 40 wt% can be deposited.