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
Robotics & Remote Systems
The Mission of the Robotics and Remote Systems Division is to promote the development and application of immersive simulation, robotics, and remote systems for hazardous environments for the purpose of reducing hazardous exposure to individuals, reducing environmental hazards and reducing the cost of performing work.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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
Apr 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2024
Nuclear Technology
May 2024
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Commercial nuclear innovation "new space" age
In early 2006, a start-up company launched a small rocket from a tiny island in the Pacific. It exploded, showering the island with debris. A year later, a second launch attempt sent a rocket to space but failed to make orbit, burning up in the atmosphere. Another year brought a third attempt—and a third failure. The following month, in September 2008, the company used the last of its funds to launch a fourth rocket. It reached orbit, making history as the first privately funded liquid-fueled rocket to do so.
H. E. Khalifa, C. P. Deck, K. C. Chen, C. A. Back
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 61 | Number 1 | January 2012 | Pages 375-380
Materials | Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Conference on Emerging Nuclear Energy Systems | doi.org/10.13182/FST12-A13448
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Chemical vapor infiltrated (CVI) silicon carbide fiber reinforced-silicon carbide matrix (SiC-SiC) composite is a relatively new material and has come under increased scrutiny as an attractive material for nuclear applications. In these materials, the interplay between fiber and matrix leads to enhanced fracture toughness. However, due to the inherent directionality of the fibers, under-standing the mechanical and thermal performance is complex and requires careful characterization. At General Atomics, a laboratory has been established to develop these materials for a range of applications, in particular for the Energy Multiplier Module (EM2), which is a gas-cooled fast reactor.In this paper, the program of work that is being undertaken to fabricate and characterize SiC matrix com-posites is discussed. For mechanical testing, specialized fixtures have been developed to hold the thin ceramic composite specimens. For thermal testing, the purge gas species and flow rate have been identified as important parameters. Initial results on planar samples have been performed on SiC-SiC samples and hot pressed SiC samples.