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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
Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
February 2025
Nuclear Technology
January 2025
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Latest News
Reboot: Nuclear needs a success . . . anywhere
The media have gleefully resurrected the language of a past nuclear renaissance. Beyond the hype and PR, many people in the nuclear community are taking a more measured view of conditions that could lead to new construction: data center demand, the proliferation of new reactor designs and start-ups, and the sudden ascendance of nuclear energy as the power source everyone wants—or wants to talk about.
Once built, large nuclear reactors can provide clean power for at least 80 years—outlasting 10 to 20 presidential administrations. Smaller reactors can provide heat and power outputs tailored to an end user’s needs. With all the new attention, are we any closer to getting past persistent supply chain and workforce issues and building these new plants? And what will the election of Donald Trump to a second term as president mean for nuclear?
As usual, there are more questions than answers, and most come down to money. Several developers are engaging with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or have already applied for a license, certification, or permit. But designs without paying customers won’t get built. So where are the customers, and what will it take for them to commit?
W. Bennett Lewis
Nuclear Technology | Volume 2 | Number 2 | April 1966 | Pages 171-181
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NT66-A27498
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Fuel may be designed for fission gas containment within the fuel clad or for venting, also to survive possible ruptures of the clad. Fission gas behavior varies widely with the UO2 starting material and, like the baking of bread, with its irradiation history of time and temperature. Below 1000° C, most gas remains trapped; between 1000 and 1800° C, most gas becomes trapped at some time in small closed pores. Expansion of the pores causes swelling. Escape from the pores is by cracking or by radiation-induced reabsorption. Fuel rods are commonly designed with a plenum to collect gas, but the high density of pores and plasticity of the oxide delays or prevents much of the gas from reaching the plenum. For irraditions up to 12 000 MWd/t, satisfactory designs have been achieved without a plenum. Above 1800° C, most gas escapes, but the process of escape is not well established and requires consideration in each case by the design engineer. Available knowledge most relevant to design is briefly reviewed and illustrated in photographs and graphs.