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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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
February 2025
Nuclear Technology
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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?
J. M. Beeston, R. R. Hobbins, G. W. Gibson, W. C. Francis*
Nuclear Technology | Volume 49 | Number 1 | June 1980 | Pages 136-149
Technical Paper | Nuclear Power Reactor Safety / Fuel | doi.org/10.13182/NT80-A32515
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Uranium aluminide powder production, fuel plate fabrication development, and irradiation performance of more than 1700 fuel elements during 10 yr of operational service at Idaho National Engineering Laboratory are discussed. The UAlx dispersion fuel system has performed well in extended service in the high flux test reactors. The anticipated benefits of the powder dispersion form—accommodation of fission products in deliberate voidage, structural tolerance of fission gas, and dispersion of burnable poisons—have been realized. The operating limit for the Advanced Test Reactor fuel elements is presently set at 2.3 × 1021 fiss/cm3 of core—a burnup of >500 000 MWd/MTU. The growth or swelling of uranium aluminide fuel plates at up to 2.4 × 1021 fiss/cm3 is proportional to the fission density, but the proportionality constant depends on the temperature, core porosity, and fuel loading with 93% enriched uranium. For a fuel loading of 4.3 × 1021 U atoms /cm3, the growth corresponds to 0.11% per % burnup. The blister test as a criterion for impending fuel plate failure due to swelling appears adequate, and the blister temperature at fission densities of 2.7 × 1021 fiss/cm3 of core is ∼720 K.
