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Division Spotlight
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
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
January 2025
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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?
Hans-Peter Meurer, Gunter K. H. Gnirss, Wolfgang Mergler, Gerhard Raule, Hans Schuster, Georg Ullrich
Nuclear Technology | Volume 66 | Number 2 | August 1984 | Pages 315-323
C.3. Fatigue Property | Status of Metallic Materials Development for Application in Advanced High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor / Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT84-A33435
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
For the development of a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor that is to be operated at temperatures up to 950°C, the low-cycle fatigue (LCF) as well as the high-cycle fatigue (HCF) behavior of several high-temperature alloys have been evaluated. The tests, performed between room temperature and 950°C, include the influence of the environment, hold times, and strain rate in the case of LCF behavior and of mean stresses in the case of HCF behavior. At high strain ranges, alloys with a high ductility like Incoloy-800H appear to be superior, whereas at low strain ranges and under HCF conditions, high-strength alloys like Inconel-617 and Nimonic-86 show a better fatigue resistance. Hold times decrease LCF resistance, especially at low strain ranges, which can be explained by the large stress relaxation. The better LCF resistance in impure helium compared to tests in air was correlated to differences in the deformation and crack initiation mechanisms. At high temperatures, strain rate plays an important role for the stress response under LCF loading. The HCF behavior was found to be very sensitive to superimposed mean stresses because of the considerable creep strain induced.
