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Young Members Group
The Young Members Group works to encourage and enable all young professional members to be actively involved in the efforts and endeavors of the Society at all levels (Professional Divisions, ANS Governance, Local Sections, etc.) as they transition from the role of a student to the role of a professional. It sponsors non-technical workshops and meetings that provide professional development and networking opportunities for young professionals, collaborates with other Divisions and Groups in developing technical and non-technical content for topical and national meetings, encourages its members to participate in the activities of the Groups and Divisions that are closely related to their professional interests as well as in their local sections, introduces young members to the rules and governance structure of the Society, and nominates young professionals for awards and leadership opportunities available to members.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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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Colin Judge: Testing structural materials in Idaho’s newest hot cell facility
Idaho National Laboratory’s newest facility—the Sample Preparation Laboratory (SPL)—sits across the road from the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF), which started operating in 1975. SPL will host the first new hot cells at INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) in 50 years, giving INL researchers and partners new flexibility to test the structural properties of irradiated materials fresh from the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) or from a partner’s facility.
Materials meant to withstand extreme conditions in fission or fusion power plants must be tested under similar conditions and pushed past their breaking points so performance and limitations can be understood and improved. Once irradiated, materials samples can be cut down to size in SPL and packaged for testing in other facilities at INL or other national laboratories, commercial labs, or universities. But they can also be subjected to extreme thermal or corrosive conditions and mechanical testing right in SPL, explains Colin Judge, who, as INL’s division director for nuclear materials performance, oversees SPL and other facilities at the MFC.
SPL won’t go “hot” until January 2026, but Judge spoke with NN staff writer Susan Gallier about its capabilities as his team was moving instruments into the new facility.
Hyung-Kyu Kim, Hyun-Gil Kim, Jae-Ho Yang, Yang-Hyun Koo
Nuclear Technology | Volume 198 | Number 3 | June 2017 | Pages 342-346
Technical Note | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2017.1311591
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The thickness of iron-based accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) cladding is discussed in this technical note because its thickness tends to be reduced from conventional zirconium alloy cladding. Structural stability may be lost if the thickness cannot withstand external pressure. Thus, the minimum allowable thickness of the ATF cladding is studied here from the viewpoint of preventing a cladding collapse. The elastic buckling theory is used to obtain the minimum thickness. The uncertainties of the mechanical properties and dimension tolerances are taken into consideration. The ovality of the cladding is also incorporated. An example calculation is carried out for APMT cladding. It is evaluated that the minimum thickness is 0.45 mm when the safety factor against the buckling is set as 2.0 and 1% of the cladding radius is accommodated for the ovality. A reference guideline of the minimum thickness depending on the mechanical property variation is suggested.
