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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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Inkjet droplets of radioactive material enable quick, precise testing at NIST
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have developed a technique called cryogenic decay energy spectrometry capable of detecting single radioactive decay events from tiny material samples and simultaneously identifying the atoms involved. In time, the technology could replace characterization tasks that have taken months and could support rapid, accurate radiopharmaceutical development and used nuclear fuel recycling, according to an article published on July 8 by NIST.
Philip E. MacDonald, James M. Broughton, Jay W. Spore
Nuclear Technology | Volume 44 | Number 3 | August 1979 | Pages 401-410
Technical Paper | Reactor Siting | doi.org/10.13182/NT79-A32275
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A preliminary evaluation was made of the results from the LOC-11 nuclear blowdown tests conducted in the Power Burst Facility. The objective of the LOC-11 tests was to measure the thermal and mechanical deformation behavior of pressurized and unpressurized fuel rods exposed to a blowdown (coolant depressurization) similar to that expected in a pressurized water reactor (PWR) during a hypothesized double-ended cold-leg break. Incipient fuel rod cladding collapse and swelling occurred during Test LOC-11C, when the two unpressurized and two pressurized PWR-type rods were exposed to a system blowdown with measured cladding temperatures increasing to 1030 K. To better understand the test results and to evaluate prediction capability, RELAP4-calculated coolant thermal-hydraulic and fuel rod thermal behavior and FRAP-T4-calculated fuel rod mechanical deformation behavior were compared with the test LOC-11C data. The RELAP4 posttest calculations of coolant behavior generally agreed well with the measured coolant behavior; however, the calculated cladding surface temperatures were ∼50 K greater than measured. The FRAP-T4 calculations of cladding deformation using “best-estimate” models slightly overpredicted the observed ballooning of the pressurized rods and underpredicted the collapse of the unpressurized rods.