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Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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
First astatine-labeled compound shipped in the U.S.
The Department of Energy’s National Isotope Development Center (NIDC) on March 31 announced the successful long-distance shipment in the United States of a biologically active compound labeled with the medical radioisotope astatine-211 (At-211). Because previous shipments have included only the “bare” isotope, the NIDC has described the development as “unleashing medical innovation.”
Y. Liao, K. Vierow
Nuclear Technology | Volume 152 | Number 3 | December 2005 | Pages 302-313
Technical Paper | Thermal Hydraulics | doi.org/10.13182/NT05-5
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A pressurized water reactor steam generator tube rupture (SGTR) is of concern because it represents a bypass of the containment for radioactive materials to the environment. In a station blackout accident, tube integrity could be threatened by creep rupture, particularly if cracks are present in the tube walls. Methods are developed herein to improve assessment capabilities for SGTR by using the severe-accident code MELCOR. Best-estimate assumptions based on recent research and computational fluid dynamics calculations are applied in the MELCOR analysis to simulate two-dimensional natural circulation and to determine the relative creep-rupture timing in the reactor coolant pressure boundary components. A new method is developed to estimate the steam generator (SG) hottest tube wall temperature and the tube critical crack size for the SG tubes to fail first. The critical crack size for SG tubes to fail first is estimated to be 20% of the wall thickness larger than by a previous analysis. Sensitivity studies show that the failure sequence would change if some assumptions are modified. In particular, the uncertainty in the countercurrent flow limit model could reverse the failure sequence of the SG tubes and surge line.