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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?
D. P. Harmon, C. B. Scott
Nuclear Technology | Volume 35 | Number 2 | September 1977 | Pages 343-352
Performance and Performance Modeling | Coated Particle Fuel / Fuel | doi.org/10.13182/NT77-A31894
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Properties affecting the irradiation performance of outer pyrolytic carbon (PyC) layers on Triso- and Biso-coated fuel particles were studied. Irradiation temperatures were 1000 to 1500°C (1273 to 1773 K). Fast-neutron fluences reached 12.4 × 1025 n/m2 (E > 29 fJ)HTGR, which is 55% beyond the large high-temperature gas-cooled reactor peak design exposure of 8.0 × 1025 n/m2. Coatings with densities between 1.85 and 1.95 Mg/m3 and mean optical anisotropy values of ≤1.03 (BAF0 units) exhibited the best irradiation performance on Triso particles. For Biso particles, it is necessary to deposit the outer layer at coating rates between 3 and 8 µm/min and with densities ≥1.84 Mg/m3 to produce coatings impermeable to fission gases after irradiation. Data from fuel rod tests show that it is important to limit the degree of surface-connected porosity of the outer PyC layer and the amount of binder phase in the matrix to prevent coating failures resulting from coating-matrix interactions.
