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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
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
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Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
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.
Sümer Sahin, Ralph W. Moir, Abdulmuttalip ŞAHINASLAN, Haci Mehmet ŞAHIN
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 30 | Number 3 | December 1996 | Pages 1027-1035
Fusion Blanket and Shield Technology | doi.org/10.13182/FST96-A11963072
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Material damage through displacements per atom (DPA) and helium gas production, as well as the tritium breeding and energy absorption in an IFE (Inertial Fusion Energy) reactor chamber have been investigated with variable coolant zone thickness using different liquids. Examples are given for HYLIFE-II (an IFE reactor design) energy conversion chambers using Flibe (Li2BeF4), natural lithium and Li17Pb83 cutectic as both coolant and wall protection. To achieve a useful energy density for energy conversion purposes with sufficient tritium breeding (TBR= 1.1), material protection (DPA < 100 and He < 500 appm in 30 years of operation) and shallow burial criteria, coolant zone thickness values are found to be 56 cm for Flibe, 160 cm for natural lithium and 170 cm for Li17Pb83 with SS-304 as structural material.
Material damage investigations are extended to structural materials made of SiC and graphite for the same blanket. DPA values and He production rates in graphite turn out to be comparable to those in SS-304. However, they are higher in SiC, as compared to SS-304 and graphite.