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Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
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2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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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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Latest News
Lightbridge announces first U-Zr fuel rod samples extruded at INL
Lightbridge Corporation announced today that it has reached “a critical milestone” in the development of its extruded solid fuel technology. Coupon samples using an alloy of zirconium and depleted uranium—not the high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) that Lightbridge plans to use to manufacture its fuel for the commercial market—were extruded at Idaho National Laboratory’s Materials and Fuels Complex.
D. R. Williamson, Jr., J. P. Blanchard
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 47 | Number 4 | May 2005 | Pages 936-940
Technical Paper | Fusion Energy - Fusion Materials | doi.org/10.13182/FST05-A809
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Z-Accelerator is an intense x-ray source located at Sandia National Laboratory. On a typical shot, 20 MA of current passes through a cylindrical array of wires over tens of nanoseconds. The result is the release of 2 MJ of low-energy x-rays at approximately 200 TW. The wires are mostly vaporized in this time, but some wire fragments remain. We have developed a model for the deformation of these wires as they accelerate towards the center of the device. While the shot is generally over 200 nanoseconds, the model only covers times on the order of 1-4 nanoseconds, as it is a continuum model.The model begins with a 2-D finite element model that determines the forces and magnetic fields the titanium wires experience early in a typical shot. The magnetic field around the wires reaches a maximum of 210 Tesla when the current is a maximum. ANSYS provides a force per unit length that is applied to the wire over time.The forces that are determined in ANSYS are used in a separate computer code that solves the equations of motion for the wires. The code solves the 1-D wave equation with a periodic forcing function, using only the early portions of a cycle to approximate a monotonically increasing load. As the wire is displaced from its initial position, the tension should increase as the length of the wire increases. An incremental model is used to update the tension as the wire is displaced, effectively linearizing an inherently nonlinear problem. Results will be described that show the wires' behavior as a function of the initial tension applied to the wire.