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 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.
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
Apr 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 2025
Nuclear Technology
April 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
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.”
Mike A. Salazar, Robert Hermes, Robert W. Margevicius
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 35 | Number 2 | March 1999 | Pages 119-122
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST99-A11963913
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Hollow spherical targets are frequently fabricated by the joining of two adhesively bonded hemispheres. Other materials used for Intertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) experiments, including aluminum, stainless steel, sapphire, and various plastics, are also bonded using adhesives.
This paper presents the mechanical testing results of Dexter-Hysol EA9330. The base metals were either an aluminum 6061-T6 or beryllium S200D. The uniaxial tensile (from room to liquid helium temperatures), lap shear, and creep properties of the adhesive under consideration were evaluated. We found that the highest lap shear strength was obtained when the test panel was assembled with fresh adhesive (time = 0 min.) and degraded to about 77% of that value in 120 minutes. Butt tensile strength increased from about 8 ksi (1 ksi = 1000 lbs/in2 = 6.90 MPa) at room temperature to about 19 ksi at −269°C for both the aluminum and beryllium base metals. The lap shear strength decreased from about 5 ksi at room temperature to about 3 ksi at cryogenic temperatures. Creep tests in both butt tensile and lap shear configurations demonstrated a very narrow stress level for which the time to failure decreased from over 720 hours to less than 20.
Finally, we found that the surface treatment is critical to achieving the highest strength adhesive bonds. Some inconclusive but interesting test data is presented opening the way for further investigation.