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Materials Science & Technology
The objectives of MSTD are: promote the advancement of materials science in Nuclear Science Technology; support the multidisciplines which constitute it; encourage research by providing a forum for the presentation, exchange, and documentation of relevant information; promote the interaction and communication among its members; and recognize and reward its members for significant contributions to the field of materials science in nuclear technology.
Meeting Spotlight
Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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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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A series of firsts delivers new Plant Vogtle units
Southern Nuclear was first when no one wanted to be.
The nuclear subsidiary of the century-old utility Southern Company, based in Atlanta, Ga., joined a pack of nuclear companies in the early 2000s—during what was then dubbed a “nuclear renaissance”—bullish on plans for new large nuclear facilities and adding thousands of new carbon-free megawatts to the grid.
In 2008, Southern Nuclear applied for a combined construction and operating license (COL), positioning the company to receive the first such license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2012. Also in 2008, Southern became the first U.S. company to sign an engineering, procurement, and construction contract for a Generation III+ reactor. Southern chose Westinghouse’s AP1000 pressurized water reactor, which was certified by the NRC in December 2011.
Fast forward a dozen years—which saw dozens of setbacks and hundreds of successes—and Southern Nuclear and its stakeholders celebrated the completion of Vogtle Units 3 and 4: the first new commercial nuclear power construction project completed in the U.S. in more than 30 years.
M. L. Bleiberg
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 5 | Number 2 | February 1959 | Pages 78-87
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE59-A25560
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Uranium-molybdenum alloys have been shown to transform from the stable to the metastable phase due to neutron bombardment. This phenomenon has been explained on the basis of the smoothing out of concentration gradients due to the action of “displacement spikes” or “thermal pulses” generated within the sample. A kinetic study of this reaction in U-9 w/o Mo alloy specimens was performed in which the phase reversal was followed by electrical resistivity measurements on the samples while they were being irradiated and held at low temperatures in-pile. The special facility which was constructed to perform this work, as well as the results of the first in-pile experiment, are described. The results of this test are felt to verify the displacement spike model of radiation damage.
