ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
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Division Spotlight
Accelerator Applications
The division was organized to promote the advancement of knowledge of the use of particle accelerator technologies for nuclear and other applications. It focuses on production of neutrons and other particles, utilization of these particles for scientific or industrial purposes, such as the production or destruction of radionuclides significant to energy, medicine, defense or other endeavors, as well as imaging and diagnostics.
Meeting Spotlight
International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
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
Argonne’s METL gears up to test more sodium fast reactor components
Argonne National Laboratory has successfully swapped out an aging cold trap in the sodium test loop called METL (Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop), the Department of Energy announced April 23. The upgrade is the first of its kind in the United States in more than 30 years, according to the DOE, and will help test components and operations for the sodium-cooled fast reactors being developed now.
L. Desgranges, M. P. Ferroud-Plattet, R. Alloncle, I. Aubrun, J. M. Untrau, P. Lhuillery
Nuclear Technology | Volume 163 | Number 2 | August 2008 | Pages 252-260
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT08-A3985
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In dry storage conditions, the accidental scenario takes into consideration a defective nuclear fuel rod reacting with the atmosphere. In order to gain information on French nuclear fuel, a new experimental setup named CROCODILE was developed to perform oxidation experiments in hot cells on defective fuel rodlets with controlled temperature and atmosphere. The first test was performed at 623 K in air with a rodlet taken from a four-cycle mixed-oxide fuel rod in which defects were simulated by drilling holes in the cladding. After 139 h of oxidation, significant degradation was observed with the development of radial and axial cracks. At this point, the experiment was stopped and the rodlet was analyzed. The main features observed were (a) a significant strain in the cladding around the cracks, which resulted in the detachment of fuel fragments; (b) no evidence of hydride accumulation in the cladding; and (c) a heterogeneous propagation of the oxidation front in the nuclear ceramic. The influence of the simulated defect is discussed and the use of a round defect is examined.