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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.
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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.”
Sangeeta B. Kolavekar, G. B. Hiremath, N. M. Badiger, N. H. Ayachit
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 197 | Number 7 | July 2023 | Pages 1506-1519
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2022.2149232
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The impact of TeO2 on the elastic and radiation shielding properties of phospho-tellurite glasses doped with varying amounts of Sm2O3 has been studied. The elastic properties, such as packing factor, packing density, Young’s modulus, bulk modulus, shear modulus, and Poisson’s ratio, were determined by using the Makashima-Mackenzie and Rocherulle models. The gamma-ray shielding parameters, such as mass attenuation coefficient, half-value layer, tenth-value layer, effective atomic number, equivalent atomic number, exposure buildup factor, and energy absorption buildup factor, were calculated using Phy-X/PSD software in the energy range from 0.015 to 15 MeV at penetration depths up to 40 mean free paths for selected glasses. The fast neutron removal cross section was also determined using Phy-X/PSD software. The results show that the mass attenuation coefficient decreases with increasing photon energy but is not influenced by the addition of Sm2O3. The exposure buildup factor values and energy absorption buildup factors have lower values in the low- and high-energy regions and higher values in the intermediate energy region. The 1.5 mol % concentration of Sm2O3 in the selected glass shows higher exposure buildup factor and energy absorption buildup factor values in the intermediate energy region. Among the selected glasses, PZBTS1.5 has the highest value of fast neutron removal cross sections. The high density, high effective atomic number, and transparency to visible light of these materials indicate that they can be used as shielding materials in nuclear reactors and nuclear technology.
