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Division Spotlight
Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
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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Fusion Science and Technology
May 2025
Latest News
Argonne’s METL gears up to test more sodium fast reactor components
Argonne National Laboratory has successfully swapped out an aging cold trap in the sodium test loop called METL (Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop), the Department of Energy announced April 23. The upgrade is the first of its kind in the United States in more than 30 years, according to the DOE, and will help test components and operations for the sodium-cooled fast reactors being developed now.
Baoling Zhang, Shuoyang Fang, Jun Wang, Xue Su, Shujian Tian
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 77 | Number 6 | August 2021 | Pages 437-445
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2021.1927583
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Helium bubble growth and coalescence in the slip plane as well as the influence on substrate were studied using the molecular dynamics method. In the slip plane, the helium bubbles grow first along the slip plane and then grow toward the side which is short one atomic layer in the form of a hexagonal structure at low temperature. The growth rates of helium bubbles are related to the addition rate of helium atoms and their surrounding environments. After coalescence, the coalesced helium bubble grows first toward the side that is short one atomic layer. Then it grows along the slip plane with a velocity less than the growth rate before coalescence. Helium bubble growth and coalescence in the slip plane have significant influence on the substrate. During the process, the preexisting slipping metal atoms are pushed back to the normal lattice sites, and the crystal structure of the metal is recovered around the helium bubbles. The recovered area changes with the number of helium atoms in the bubble and the temperature of the substrate. The simulation results indicate that the preexisting grain boundary is beneficial for enhancing the helium damage resistance of metal.