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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
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?
R. L. Nelson, N. Parkinson, W. C. L. Kent
Nuclear Technology | Volume 53 | Number 2 | May 1981 | Pages 196-203
Technical Paper | Realistic Estimates of the Consequences of Nuclear Accident / Nuclear Fuel | doi.org/10.13182/NT81-A32624
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Future fabrication plants for breeder reactor fuel will have to be designed to more stringent personnel radiation exposure standards. Thus, it is desirable to move away from glove box operations toward fully remote operating and maintenance concepts. Experience with the manufacture of fuel for the prototype fast reactor demonstrated that processes requiring frequent and skilled adjustment are to be avoided and that the essential requirement for a remote fabrication route is that it be stable, tolerant, and readily meet product specifications. The equipment selected must be reliable and have low maintenance requirements. Maintenance is perceived as a crucial area, and concepts under consideration for future plants involve the remote removal, decontamination,and replacement of equipment modules or assemblies. A vibro-compaction technique for filling fuel pins, which consists of a single infiltration of a coarse bed of spheres with fine spheres, is considered to have high potential for upscale in a remote operation. The gel precipitation route to 800- and 80-nm spheres of (U,Pu)O2 has been shown to yield acceptable products for vibro-compaction of fuel elements to ∼80% smear density. This wet chemical route meets many of the criteria for future remote fabrication plants and a sequential development program toward a full-scale production plant is in hand.