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Conference Spotlight
2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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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Latest News
Shifting the paradigm of supply chain
Chad Wolf
When I began my nuclear career, I was coached up in the nuclear energy culture of the day to “run silent, run deep,” a mindset rooted in the U.S. Navy’s submarine philosophy. That was the norm—until Fukushima.
The nuclear renaissance that many had envisioned hit a wall. The focus shifted from expansion to survival. Many utility communications efforts pivoted from silence to broadcast, showcasing nuclear energy’s elegance and reliability. Nevertheless, despite being clean baseload 24/7 power that delivered a 90 percent capacity factor or higher, nuclear energy was painted as risky and expensive (alongside energy policies and incentives that favored renewables).
Economics became a driving force threatening to shutter nuclear power. The Delivering the Nuclear Promise initiative launched in 2015 challenged the industry to sustain high performance yet cut costs by up to 30 percent.
G. L. Copeland, M. M. Martin
Nuclear Technology | Volume 56 | Number 3 | March 1982 | Pages 547-552
Technical Paper | Nuclear Fuel | doi.org/10.13182/NT82-A32913
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A common plate-type fuel for research and test reactors is U3O8 dispersed in aluminum and clad with an aluminum alloy. There is an impetus to reduce the 235U enrichment from above 90% to below 20%) for these fuels to lessen the risk of diversion of the uranium for nonpeaceful uses. Thus, the uranium content of the fuel plates has to be increased to maintain the performance of the reactors. Work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has determined the maximal uranium loading for these fuels that can be fabricated with commercially proven materials and techniques and that can be expected to perform satisfactorily in service. Assuming satisfactory performance in irradiation tests to the required burnup, we anticipate being able to increase the uranium loading in U3O8-Al dispersions to the 3.1 Mg U/m3 level (75 wt% U3O8). This loading level will allow many research reactors to be fueled by uranium of <20% enrichment.
