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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
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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Latest News
NRC engineers share their expertise at the University of Puerto Rico
Robert Roche-Rivera and Marcos Rolón-Acevedo are licensed professional engineers who work at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. They are also alumni of the University of Puerto Rico–Mayagüez (UPRM) and have been sharing their knowledge and experience with students at their alma mater since last year, serving as adjunct professors in the university’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. During the 2023–2024 school year, they each taught two courses: Fundamentals of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and Nuclear Power Plant Engineering.
Masrukan Masrukan, M. Husna Alhasa, Maman Kartaman, Juan Carlos Sihotang
Nuclear Technology | Volume 210 | Number 3 | March 2024 | Pages 379-390
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2023.2227814
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The fuel element plates in a research reactor can be exposed to an acidic, neutral, or alkaline environment based on its surroundings. This study aimed to investigate the effect of Nb addition on the corrosion properties of U-6Zr alloys in various environments. U-6Zr-xNb alloys (U-6Zr-2Nb, U-6Zr-5Nb, and U-6Zr-8Nb) with different Nb compositions of 2, 5, and 8 wt%, respectively, were prepared and cut into smaller pieces. The pieces were then mounted with chemical resin equipped with copper wire cables and metallography prepared by grinding using sandpaper with grit sizes ranging from 320 to 1200. The electrochemical corrosion tests used in this work were the polarization test and Tafel extrapolation method.
In the first step of corrosion testing, the corrosion potential and polarization resistance were measured using standard settings from a voltage range of −0.02 to 0.02 V with a scanning rate of 0.05 mV/s. In the next step, a destructive method, called the Tafel extrapolation method, was used. Corrosion tests were carried out on U-6Zr-xNb alloys (x = 2, 5, 8) under various environmental conditions using electrochemical methods. Polarization resistance test and Tafel extrapolation methods revealed that the U-6Zr-2Nb alloy exhibited good corrosion resistance in an acidic HNO3 environment with a pH of 1.18. The best corrosion resistance of the U-6Zr-5Nb alloy was observed in demineralized water. Meanwhile, the U-6Zr-8Nb alloy showed the best corrosion resistance in an alkaline NaOH environment with a pH of 11.02. It can be concluded that the higher Nb composition added to U-6Zr alloys, the better their corrosion resistance in higher pH environments.