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
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
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
Feb 2025
Jul 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
February 2025
Latest News
Colin Judge: Testing structural materials in Idaho’s newest hot cell facility
Idaho National Laboratory’s newest facility—the Sample Preparation Laboratory (SPL)—sits across the road from the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF), which started operating in 1975. SPL will host the first new hot cells at INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) in 50 years, giving INL researchers and partners new flexibility to test the structural properties of irradiated materials fresh from the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) or from a partner’s facility.
Materials meant to withstand extreme conditions in fission or fusion power plants must be tested under similar conditions and pushed past their breaking points so performance and limitations can be understood and improved. Once irradiated, materials samples can be cut down to size in SPL and packaged for testing in other facilities at INL or other national laboratories, commercial labs, or universities. But they can also be subjected to extreme thermal or corrosive conditions and mechanical testing right in SPL, explains Colin Judge, who, as INL’s division director for nuclear materials performance, oversees SPL and other facilities at the MFC.
SPL won’t go “hot” until January 2026, but Judge spoke with NN staff writer Susan Gallier about its capabilities as his team was moving instruments into the new facility.
D. R. Patel, T. Koyanagi
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 75 | Number 7 | October 2019 | Pages 636-641
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2019.1647029
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Silicon carbide (SiC) fiber–reinforced SiC matrix (SiC/SiC) composites have been widely investigated for potential fusion reactor applications. In this present investigation, the high-temperature creep performance of five types of SiC fibers is evaluated and microstructural analysis is performed. The creep behavior of the fibers was assessed by the bend stress relaxation method at various applied strains at 1500°C and 1700°C. The fibers tested include developmental-grade fibers with different residual silicon amounts (~0%, 2% to 3%, and 5% to 6%) fabricated by laser chemical vapor deposition at Free Form Fibers. Generally, the creep behavior of the Free Form (FF) fibers was similar to Hi-Nicalon Type S and/Tyranno-SA SiC fibers currently used for fabrication of SiC/SiC composites for fusion applications. However, all FF fibers exhibited the formation of pores after the creep tests at 1700°C regardless of residual silicon amount, which can be improved by further development via optimization of the composition and microstructure.
