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Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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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General Kenneth Nichols and the Manhattan Project
Nichols
The Oak Ridger has published the latest in a series of articles about General Kenneth D. Nichols, the Manhattan Project, and the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. The series has been produced by Nichols’ grandniece Barbara Rogers Scollin and Oak Ridge (Tenn.) city historian David Ray Smith. Gen. Nichols (1907–2000) was the district engineer for the Manhattan Engineer District during the Manhattan Project.
As Smith and Scollin explain, Nichols “had supervision of the research and development connected with, and the design, construction, and operation of, all plants required to produce plutonium-239 and uranium-235, including the construction of the towns of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland, Washington. The responsibility of his position was massive as he oversaw a workforce of both military and civilian personnel of approximately 125,000; his Oak Ridge office became the center of the wartime atomic energy’s activities.”
Sarah R. Suffield, Ben J. Jensen, Philip J. Jensen, William A. Perkins, Brady D. Hanson, Steven B. Ross, Christopher L. Grant, Casey J. Spitz
Nuclear Technology | Volume 210 | Number 9 | September 2024 | Pages 1648-1657
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2023.2299892
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper provides an overview of ongoing work aimed at developing spent nuclear fuel (SNF) canister deposition models. Currently, it is known that stainless steel canisters are susceptible to chloride-induced stress corrosion cracking (CISCC). However, the rate of CISCC degradation and the likelihood that it could lead to a through-wall crack is unknown. While it is currently unknown if there is a threshold chloride surface concentration for CISCC initiation, it can be assumed that the onset and progress of material degradation will depend on the local contaminant concentration, the properties of the contaminant species, and the synergistic effects when multiple contaminants are present.
This study uses well-developed computational fluid dynamics and particle tracking tools and applies them to SNF storage to determine the rate of deposition on canisters. Understanding the rate of deposition on SNF canisters could be important for making canister aging management predictions. This study is a part of an ongoing effort funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy, Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Science and Technology, which is tasked with doing research relevant to enhancing the technical basis for ensuring the safe extended storage and subsequent transport of SNF.
This work is being presented to demonstrate a potentially useful technique for SNF canister vendors, utilities, regulators, and stakeholders to utilize and further develop for their own designs and site-specific studies.