ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
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.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
May 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
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.
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.