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Division Spotlight
Decommissioning & Environmental Sciences
The mission of the Decommissioning and Environmental Sciences (DES) Division is to promote the development and use of those skills and technologies associated with the use of nuclear energy and the optimal management and stewardship of the environment, sustainable development, decommissioning, remediation, reutilization, and long-term surveillance and maintenance of nuclear-related installations, and sites. The target audience for this effort is the membership of the Division, the Society, and the public at large.
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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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?
G. J. Theus
Nuclear Technology | Volume 28 | Number 3 | March 1976 | Pages 388-397
Technical Paper | Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT76-A31521
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
High-temperature electrochemical tests have resulted in the stress corrosion cracking of Inconel-600 and Incoloy-800 (registered trademarks, International Nickel Company), and Type 304 stainless steel in caustic solutions. Results show that stress corrosion cracking of these alloys can be prevented or accelerated by varying their electrochemical potential. To a certain extent, the same effect can be achieved by altering the gas atmosphere above the test solution from a pure nitrogen cover gas to a mixture of 5% H2 and 95% N2. The effect of the cover gas can then be negated by adjusting the specimen’s electrochemical potential either to cause or to inhibit stress corrosion cracking. These types of experiments lead to a better determination of the boundary conditions within which stress corrosion cracking of the alloys occurs. Some specifics of the test results reveal that in deoxygenated caustic solutions, Inconel-600 cracks intergranularly at mildly anodic potentials; Incoloy-800 cracks transgranularly at reduced potentials (at or near the open circuit potential) and intergranularly at highly oxidizing potentials; and cracking is mixed (transgranular/intergranu-lar) for Type 304 stainless steel at or near the open circuit potential. The severity of cracking for both Inconel-600 and Incoloy-800 in deoxygenated caustic solutions is reduced by giving the materials a simulated post-weld heat treatment (1150°F for 18 h). Test results on Inconel-600 show that high-carbon (0.06%) material cracks less severely than low-carbon (0.02%) material, in both the simulated post-weld heat-treated condition and the mill-annealed condition. The results we obtained with the electrochemical corrosion techniques agree with results obtained using conventional corrosion methods for caustic stress corrosion cracking. Moreover, many metallurgical variables, which promote or retard caustic cracking, are the same as those conditions that promote or retard high-temperature high-purity water failures—particularly in the case of Inconel-600.
