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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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Latest News
2024: The Year in Nuclear—July through September
Another calendar year has passed. Before heading too far into 2025, let’s look back at what happened in 2024 in the nuclear community. In today's post, compiled from Nuclear News and Nuclear Newswire are what we feel are the top nuclear news stories from July through September 2024.
Stay tuned for the top stories from the rest of the past year.
Robert E. Woodley, Robert E. Einziger, H. Craig Buchanan
Nuclear Technology | Volume 85 | Number 1 | April 1989 | Pages 74-88
Technical Paper | Nuclear Fuel | doi.org/10.13182/NT89-A34229
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A series of pressurized water reactor spent-fuel samples from Turkey Point Unit 3 have been oxidized at temperatures between 140 and 225°C in air atmospheres with dew points between 14.5 and -70°C, using a thermogravimetric analysis system. Tests lasted between 400 and 2100 h. At the conclusion of a test, the atmosphere was sampled to determine the release of fission gas during testing, and the fuel samples were analyzed for microstructural changes. It appears that the mechanisms for oxidation of spent fuel to U3O7 takes place in two steps that occur somewhat simultaneously. Oxygen migrates along the grain boundaries, which are oxidized and enlarged. The grains oxidize by the inward progression of a layer of U4O9 saturated with oxygen. A simplified model of the mechanism, which considers oxygen diffusion through the product layer as the rate-controlling step, yields an activation energy of 113 ± 17 kJ/mol. Moisture, between dew points of —70 to +14.5°C, i.e., water vapor partial pressures varying over four orders of magnitude, had no significant effect on the oxidation rate.