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Division Spotlight
Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
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?
C. T. Walker, S. Pickering
Nuclear Technology | Volume 42 | Number 2 | February 1979 | Pages 207-215
Technical Paper | Thorium Fuel Cycle in a Breeder Economy / Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT79-A32151
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Analyses were performed on three mixed-oxide fuel pins. Two were irradiated in a fast flux, one in an epithermal-neutron flux. The compositions of the corrosion product phases in the fuel-cladding gaps of the different pins were similar. The phase was essentially a mixture of metal oxides, with chromium oxide the main constituent. Cesium chromate, if it formed at all, was present in only small amounts. Oxides of iron and nickel were not detected, which suggests that the oxygen potential in the gap did not exceed that for the FeCr2O4 formation. Metallic fragments in the phase resulted from mechanical interactions involving the phase and cladding grains whose boundaries had been weakened by intergranular corrosion. Chromium and manganese were lost from the inner cladding surface of all three pins. Titanium loss also occurred from the two pins clad with titanium-stabilized steel. A grain boundary phase depleted in chromium was present at the inner cladding surface of one of the pins irradiated in a fast flux. The phase that was associated with intergranular attack occurred in advance of the corrosion front.