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.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
May 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2026
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
WIPP: Lessons in transportation safety
As part of a future consent-based approach by the federal government to site new deep geologic repositories for nuclear waste, local communities and states that are considering hosting such facilities are sure to have many questions. Currently, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico is the only example of such a repository in operation, and it offers the opportunity for state and local officials to visit and judge for themselves the risks and benefits of hosting a similar facility. But its history can also provide lessons for these officials, particularly the political process leading up to the opening of WIPP, the safety of WIPP operations and transportation of waste from generator facilities to the site, and the economic impacts the project has had on the local area of Carlsbad, as well as the rest of the state of New Mexico.
R. K. Annabattula, M. Kolb, Y. Gan, R. Rolli, M. Kamlah
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 66 | Number 1 | July-August 2014 | Pages 136-141
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST13-737
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The crushing strength of the breeder material [lithium orthosilicate (Li4SiO4 or OSi)] in the form of pebbles to be used for EU solid breeder concept is investigated. The pebbles are fabricated using a melt-spray method, and hence, a size variation in the pebbles produced is expected. Knowledge of the mechanical integrity (crush strength) of the pebbles is important for a successful design of a breeder blanket. In this paper, we present the experimental results of the crush (failure) loads for spherical OSi pebbles of different diameters ranging from 250um to 800um. The ultimate failure load for each size shows a Weibull distribution. Furthermore, the mean crush load increases with increase in pebble diameter. It is also observed that the level of opacity of the pebble influences the crush load significantly. The experimental data presented in this paper and the associated analysis could possibly help us to develop a framework for simulating a crushable polydisperse pebble assembly using discrete element method.
