ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Thermal Hydraulics
The division provides a forum for focused technical dialogue on thermal hydraulic technology in the nuclear industry. Specifically, this will include heat transfer and fluid mechanics involved in the utilization of nuclear energy. It is intended to attract the highest quality of theoretical and experimental work to ANS, including research on basic phenomena and application to nuclear system design.
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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Jan 2025
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
February 2025
Nuclear Technology
January 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
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. Russell Hawthorne
Nuclear Technology | Volume 59 | Number 3 | December 1982 | Pages 440-455
Technical PaperTechnical Paper | The Backfill as an Engineered Barrier for Radioactive Waste Management / Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT82-A33002
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The effects of three levels of copper content and phosphorus content and two levels of sulfur content on radiation sensitivity and postirradiation heat treatment response were explored for a reactor pressure vessel steel, Type A302-B. Test plates for the investigation were produced from 182-kg (400-lb) laboratory melts. The contributions of individual elements were assessed from Charpy-V (CV) notch ductility changes with 288°C (550°F) irradiation and with a 343°C (650°F), 168-h postirradiation heat treatment. Limited studies of properties recovery by postirradiation 399°C (750°F) heat treatment were also made. Radiation embrittlement sensitivity, as shown by CV transition temperature elevation and CV upper shelf reduction, generally increased with increased copper and phosphorus content and with decreased sulfur content. Certain ranges of phosphorus and copper content were found to be more critical than others. Response to 343°C (650°F) postirradiation heat treatment, as evidenced by transition temperature recovery in degrees Celsius, appeared to be independent of copper, phosphorus, and sulfur content for the ranges investigated. Response to heat treatment also appeared to be independent of the magnitude of the prior transition temperature elevation by irradiation. On the other hand, a dependence of percentage recovery on impurity element content was observed. A dependence of upper shelf recovery on copper content was also found. Six of the eight plate compositions exhibited full upper shelf recovery but only small transition temperature recovery after 343°C (650°F) heat treatment.
