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Division Spotlight
Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
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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.”
Andrew Cartas, Haitang Wang, Ghatu Subhash, Ronald Baney, James Tulenko
Nuclear Technology | Volume 189 | Number 3 | March 2015 | Pages 258-267
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT14-7
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A novel uranium dioxide (UO2)–carbon nanotube (CNT) ceramic matrix composite fuel concept has been proposed for a nuclear fuel with increased thermal conductivity. Investigations were performed to analyze the dispersion of CNTs in a UO2 matrix utilizing homogenization and sonication techniques. Ethanol and ortho-dichlorobenzene (ODCB) were utilized as solvents during the mixing process. Distributions of both multiwalled carbon nanotubes and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) were analyzed. It has been determined that CNTs can be homogeneously distributed into a UO2 matrix using mechanical processes, sonication, and homogenization in the organic solvent ODCB. The powder mixture of UO2 and CNTs was sintered at 1300°C with a hold time of 5 min and 40-MPa pressure in a spark plasma sintering furnace, and the resulting grain size distribution was analyzed. It was observed that where the distribution of CNTs was not well controlled, significant grain growth of UO2 occurred. However, where the CNT distribution is well controlled, the grain growth is limited by the pinning effect of the CNTs along the grain boundaries. The resulting pellet thermal conductivity was improved by 29.7% with the addition of 5 vol % SWNT, relative to pure UO2 values. Raman spectroscopy in conjunction with scanning electron microscopy shows that most CNTs survive both the mixing and sintering processes.