ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
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.
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Jan 2025
Jul 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
February 2025
Nuclear Technology
January 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
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?
L. A. Lawrence, D. C. Hata, J. W. Weber
Nuclear Technology | Volume 42 | Number 2 | February 1979 | Pages 195-206
Technical Paper | Thorium Fuel Cycle in a Breeder Economy / Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT79-A32150
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A significant reduction in and a change in the character of fuel-cladding chemical interaction (FCCI) due to a reduction in the oxygen-to-metal ratio (O/M) was established for uranium-plutonium mixed-oxide fuels clad with 20% cold-worked Type 316 stainless steel irradiated in the Experimental Breeder Reactor II. Fuel pins from the Hanford Engineering Development Laboratory P-23C subassembly at initial fuel O/Ms of 1.94, 1.95, and 1.97 were examined at peak burnups of 1.1, 2.5, and 3.6 at.%. The depth of FCCI increased with increasing burnup and temperature, but the relative effects of fuel O/M did not change. An approximate three-fold reduction in FCCI resulted from a reduction in fuel O/M from 1.97 to 1.95 at ∼3.6 at.%) burnup. The peak FCCI in the lower O/M fuel was ∼5 μm and appeared as a preferential loss of cladding at grain boundaries and slip planes on the cladding inner surface. In contrast, the typical FCCI in the higher O/M (1.97) fuel pin was matrix in character, and penetrated ∼14 μm into the cladding. Thus, FCCI in mixed-oxide fuel can be reduced to negligible levels by lowering the O/M during manufacture of the fuel.
