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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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International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
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!
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Latest News
TerraPower begins U.K. regulatory approval process
Seattle-based TerraPower signaled its interest this week in building its Natrium small modular reactor in the United Kingdom, the company announced.
TerraPower sent a letter to the U.K.’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, formally establishing its intention to enter the U.K. generic design assessment (GDA) process. This is TerraPower’s first step in deployment of its Natrium technology—a 345-MW sodium fast reactor coupled with a molten salt energy storage unit—on the international stage.
B.B. Glasgow, W.G. Wolfer
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 8 | Number 1 | July 1985 | Pages 546-552
Material Engineering — Behavior | Proceedings of the Sixth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (San Francisco, California, March 3-7, 1985) | doi.org/10.13182/FST85-A40096
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Ferritic steels have been shown to swell much less than 316 austenitic stainless steel. For this reason ferritic steels are being considered for fusion reactor applications as an alternative to 316 austenitic stainless steel. A lifetime analysis based on crack propagation has been done for ferritic steel using typical first wall parameters. The results for ferritic steel are compared to results from a similar analysis done for 316 austenitic stainless steel. The comparison shows that ferritic steels have lower thermal stresses than 316 austenitic stainless steel by a factor of about 2. Because of the lower thermal stresses, the cyclic stresses resulting from the plasma-on/plasma-off cycles are reduced and the predicted fatigue crack growth rate is less for ferritic steels. The analysis predicts a lifetime more than 10 times longer for ferritic steel than for 316 austenitic stainless steel. The comparison clearly shows the great potential of ferritic steel over 316 austenitic stainless steel as a first wall material to achieve the high wall loading desired for future fusion reactors.
