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Materials Science & Technology
The objectives of MSTD are: promote the advancement of materials science in Nuclear Science Technology; support the multidisciplines which constitute it; encourage research by providing a forum for the presentation, exchange, and documentation of relevant information; promote the interaction and communication among its members; and recognize and reward its members for significant contributions to the field of materials science in nuclear technology.
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2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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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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Securing the advanced reactor fleet
Physical protection accounts for a significant portion of a nuclear power plant’s operational costs. As the U.S. moves toward smaller and safer advanced reactors, similar protection strategies could prove cost prohibitive. For tomorrow’s small modular reactors and microreactors, security costs must remain appropriate to the size of the reactor for economical operation.
S. M. An, K. S. Ha, B. T. Min, H. Y. Kim, J. H. Song
Nuclear Technology | Volume 189 | Number 2 | February 2015 | Pages 133-142
Technical Paper | Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT14-24
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The ablation kinetics of special concrete, which has been developed as one of the candidate protecting materials for the EU-APR1400 ex-vessel core catcher, was investigated experimentally. Metallic corium and stainless steel melts were generated using an induction heating technique in a cold crucible and used for the interaction tests with the special concrete. The melt delivery system was designed to prevent the melt impingement effect and chemical changes of the concrete specimen owing to preheating during the melt generation process. The metallic corium melts above the activation temperature interacted with the concrete specimens very intensively, which led to an abrupt increase of concrete ablation. However, in the interactions with the steel melts, the concrete specimens were ablated slowly even though the melt temperatures were higher than the metallic corium melts. A postanalysis of the chemical compositions and microstructures of the ingot with the ablated concrete was performed to understand the ablation phenomena. It was found that the U and Zr contained in the metallic corium melt reacted with the oxygen released by the dissociation of ferric oxides in the special concrete above the activation temperature. As a result of the exothermic reaction, both the ablation rate and the reaction layer coefficient were increased with a higher melt temperature and exhibited higher values than those in the interactions with the steel melt. Moreover, it was verified that the oxidation quotients of U and Zr are higher than those of Fe and Cr.