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Division Spotlight
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
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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February 2025
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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?
H. G. A. Bates, W. Betteridge, R. H. Cook, L. W. Graham, D. F. Lupton
Nuclear Technology | Volume 28 | Number 3 | March 1976 | Pages 424-440
Technical Paper | Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT76-A31524
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
To evaluate performance of materials in a high-temperature reactor, Dragon Project has conducted creep/corrosion tests in air and in impure helium on a wide range of structural and experimental steels and high-temperature alloys. These included 11 casts of austenitic steels tested in helium with impurity levels controlled at 50 to 100 jut at H2, 25 to 50 µ at CO, 3 to 8 µ at CH4, and0.5 to 3 µ at H2O in a total pressure of 1.8 atm. Tests were conducted at 650 to 800°C for times up to 15 000 h. For materials based on 9 to 17% nickel and 15 to 18% chromium, surface corrosion rates were lower in steels containing 0.16 to 0.7% niobium than in those with similar levels of titanium or those of AISI Type 316 stainless steel. Subsurface intergranular oxidation and carburization were also noted in the niobium-free steels. Depths of intergranular oxidation ranged up to 200 µm, depending on strain, time, and temperature. In AISI Type 316 stainless steel, carburization was noted for depths up to 1.3 mm after 10 000 h at 750°C. Results on four casts of Alloy 800 have been described. Usually these displayed low oxide growth rates and some intergranular oxidation, but in one cast subjected to a nonstandard heat treatment (vacuum annealing in silica capsules), there was a tendency for thick patchy oxidation associated with deep oxide penetrations and local carburization. Creep and rupture strengths in helium were usually at least as good as those in air, and there was no evidence that the intergranular oxidation or subsurface carburization, seen in some steels at 700°C and above, caused premature creep cracking. The one exception to this behavior was again the batch of Alloy 800 subjected to the detrimental heat treatment. At 650 there were some cases of low ductility failures in Alloy 800, but these were probably caused by inherent material behavior rather than any adverse effect of helium. However, some preliminary data suggest that crack nucleation in Alloy 800 is easier in air but that propagation is faster in helium.