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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
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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?
Kenji Kikuchi, Hideo Kaburaki, Konomo Sanokawa, Katsuyuki Kawaguchi, Masaaki Nemoto, Shintaro Watanabe
Nuclear Technology | Volume 66 | Number 3 | September 1984 | Pages 491-502
E. Friction and Wear | Status of Metallic Materials Development for Application in Advanced High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor / Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT84-A33471
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In a very high temperature gas-cooled reactor developed at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, reactor components, such as heat transfer tubes (Hastelloy-XR) of an intermediate heat exchanger, hot duct liners (Hastelloy-XR), core support plates ( Cr-1 Mo steel), control rod sheaths (Hastelloy-XR), orifice devices (SUS 304), fuel blocks (graphite), and others, are exposed to helium gas coolant with a temperature of 1000°C and a pressure of 4.1 MPa. The relative sliding movements of the structure, which are stimulated by flow-induced vibration, constraint force, and thermal expansion, might cause unfavorable friction and wear. Sliding wear tests were carried out on PGX graphite, Cr-1 Mo steel, and heat- and corrosion-resistant Hastelloy-XR in 500 to 1000°C. Environmental helium gas pressures of 0.2 and 4.1 MPa were chosen to compare the influence of the pressures. The effects of four different impurity gases (O2, H2, H2O, and CH4) on tribological behavior were studied, each gas concentration being varied up to ∼103 ppm. The specimen was a hemisphere-on-plate type, the plate being oscillated with a 5-Hz frequency and a 0.5-mm amplitude under a 9.8-N contacting load. The test duration was 3 h. In the case of Hastelloy-XR against itself, wear was adhesive in general, but the friction coefficient decreased to ∼0.3 in the environment with high-O2 concentration, and a relatively thick oxide film was found on the sliding surface. The results of calorized Hastelloy-XR against PGX graphite showed little dependence on impurity gas, and a lower value friction coefficient of ∼0.1 was obtained. In Cr-1 Mo steel against PGX graphite, thin layers of Fe2O3 and/or Fe3O4 were formed on the metal surfaces in the environment containing O2, and the friction coefficient gradually increased with high-O2 concentration. The case of PGX graphite against itself gave a low friction coefficient of ∼0.1 in the environment of high-O2 concentration, whereas in other impurity gases the value was ∼0.4.
