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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
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!
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
August 2024
Nuclear Technology
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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.
Yang Hong Jung, Hee Moon Kim
Nuclear Technology | Volume 207 | Number 12 | December 2021 | Pages 1842-1850
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2020.1845057
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This study characterizes a failed discharged fuel rod with 53 000 MWd/tonne U from a nuclear power plant in Korea. Chalk River Unidentified Deposits (CRUD) and the oxide layer were observed using an electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA, SX-50 R, CAMECA, France) with wavelength dispersive (X-ray) spectroscopy. A normally irradiated cladding specimen was analyzed for comparison with the failed fuel rod. The analysis revealed an oxide layer with a thickness of about 10 μm and double-stratified agglomerates of CRUD species shapes. In contrast, sound fuel rods irradiated under conditions similar to failed fuel showed clusters in which Fe, Ni, and Cr were distributed. The main elements constituting the CRUD material, notably Ni and Fe, were located in the same position. Moreover, the thickness of the oxidized layer of the failed fuel rod was found to be significantly different from the thickness of the sound fuel rod.
Consequently, EPMA techniques offer the possibility of identifying and analyzing the CRUD phases and segregations in spent pressurized water reactor fuel. Although phases and segregations are small in terms of the amount expected to be present in background radiation, they nevertheless present a significant analytical challenge.