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
Radiation Protection & Shielding
The Radiation Protection and Shielding Division is developing and promoting radiation protection and shielding aspects of nuclear science and technology — including interaction of nuclear radiation with materials and biological systems, instruments and techniques for the measurement of nuclear radiation fields, and radiation shield design and evaluation.
Meeting Spotlight
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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
Jul 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
August 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
ARPA-E announces $40 million to develop transmutation technologies for UNF
The Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) announced $40 million in funding to develop cutting-edge technologies to enable the transmutation of used nuclear fuel into less-radioactive substances. According to ARPA-E, the new initiative addresses one of the agency’s core goals as outlined by Congress: to provide transformative solutions to improve the management, cleanup, and disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.
Naphtali M. Mokgalapa, Tushar K. Ghosh, Robert V. Tompson, Sudarshan K. Loyalka
Nuclear Technology | Volume 203 | Number 3 | September 2018 | Pages 336-347
Technical Note | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2018.1453729
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Graphite dust is generated in the reactor core during normal operation of very high temperature reactors (VHTRs). This dust is transported throughout the reactor circuit and plates-out at different locations. The resuspension of graphite dust is believed to be a major contributor to the nuclear source term. The adhesion force is an important parameter governing the resuspension of the dust. The present study employed an atomic force microscope to measure the adhesive force between a reactor-grade graphite cluster “particle” and VHTR structural materials including Inconel 617 and Hastelloy X in an air glove box. Results for a reactor-grade graphite (MLRF-1 from SGL Carbon Ltd.) cluster particle interacting with Inconel 617 and Hastelloy X samples are reported under four different surface conditions including as received, and after 5, 10, and 15 min of oxidation. These forces were also predicted using the Johnson-Kendall-Roberts theoretical model with the estimate of the work of adhesion. The measured values depend on oxidation times but are in general a factor of about 20 lower than the predicted values. With surface roughness taken into account, the predicted values differ from the measured values by factors of 2 and 4 at the maximum for Hastelloy X and Inconel 617, respectively.