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
Nuclear Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Winter Conference and Expo
November 17–21, 2024
Orlando, FL|Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld
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
Aug 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2024
Latest News
Nuclear new build procurement considerations
It may seem counterintuitive, but the best time to enhance the ability to support operations and maintenance for a new plant is before construction starts. This is one of many lessons learned by the currently operating nuclear fleet. As construction and startup of many nuclear facilities was completed, it quickly became evident that the ability to efficiently support operations and maintenance was limited. Most of the information necessary to establish and manage procurement of spare and replacement items, maintenance, and configuration of the facilities was unavailable and had to be gathered on a case-by-case, “on-demand” basis. Absence of necessary information and the associated challenges resulted in the need for staff augmentation and multiyear-long projects to develop equipment bills of material and maintenance programs and to perform technical evaluations for the huge quantities of spare and replacement items being requested.
G. Cao, S. Herrmann, S. Li, R. Hoover, J. King, B. Serrano-Rodriguez, K. Marsden
Nuclear Technology | Volume 206 | Number 4 | April 2020 | Pages 577-586
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2019.1666601
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
LiCl-Li2O salt is a widely used electrolyte for the electrochemical reduction of spent oxide (mainly uranium oxide) fuels, and the Li2O concentration is usually controlled at about 1.41 mol % for optimum operation and corrosion mitigation of the platinum anode material. Due to the small difference in reduction potential between UO2 and Li2O, some Li2O will be reduced during the oxide reduction process, leading to a Li2O deviation from the desired 1.41 mol %. Monitoring of the Li2O concentration is desired for proper control of the electrochemical oxide reduction process. In this paper, a Li2O sensor based on a yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) membrane was developed and tested to evaluate the feasibility of using the Li2O sensor to monitor the Li2O concentrations in the range of 0.57 to 1.69 mol % Li2O in LiCl-Li2O salt systems—one without dissolved Li metal and another with 0.24 mol % dissolved Li metal. The experimental results show that the open circuit potential of the Li2O sensor logarithmically responded to the concentration of Li2O in LiCl-Li2O salts with or without the presence of Li metal, suggesting that YSZ appears promising for real-time monitoring of the Li2O concentration in LiCl-Li2O salt for an oxide reduction process. The Li2O sensor developed herein is based on a potentiometry measurement that requires a stable, reliable reference electrode (RE), particularly for long-term Li2O concentration monitoring. To this end, a novel Ag/AgCl RE that is contained in a high-density MgO tube with a closed end was developed and exhibited stable electrode potential, chemical compatibility with LiCl-Li2O, and good mechanical strength. The performance of the newly developed Ag/AgCl RE was demonstrated in Li2O monitoring by comparing it with a traditional Ni/NiO RE.