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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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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Inkjet droplets of radioactive material enable quick, precise testing at NIST
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have developed a technique called cryogenic decay energy spectrometry capable of detecting single radioactive decay events from tiny material samples and simultaneously identifying the atoms involved. In time, the technology could replace characterization tasks that have taken months and could support rapid, accurate radiopharmaceutical development and used nuclear fuel recycling, according to an article published on July 8 by NIST.
Rei Kimura, Kazuhito Asano
Nuclear Technology | Volume 210 | Number 8 | August 2024 | Pages 1496-1502
Note | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2023.2299899
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A novel microreactor, called MoveluXTM, was previously proposed that utilizes heat pipes as the primary heat transfer device and calcium hydride as the moderator. In this core design, the moderator temperature is the critical core operation limit because at high temperatures above 800°C, the hydrogen dissociates from the calcium hydride. The core temperature distribution, therefore, was previously evaluated. However, this evaluation did not consider gamma heating in the core and assumed that power was produced only in the fuel region. By contrast, the moderator region has a power density under realistic conditions due to gamma heating. Thus, the present work considers gamma heating in the core power distribution calculation and evaluates the impact on the moderator temperature. The power density of gamma heating was 1/10th that of the fuel region and around 1/100th that of the core thermal power. This increased the temperature of the moderator by 10 K from the case without considering gamma heating. In addition, this temperature distribution difference did not have an impact on the core criticality. In conclusion, considering the gamma heating, concerns regarding the core design are not suggested.