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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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2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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Latest News
Proving DRACO will deliver
The United States is now closer than it has been in over five decades to launching the first nuclear thermal rocket into space, thanks to DRACO—the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Orbit.
D. Gozzi, P. L. Cignini, M. Tomellini, S. Frullani, F. Garibaldi, F. Ghio, M. Jodice, G. M. Urciuoli
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 21 | Number 1 | January 1992 | Pages 60-74
Technical Notes on Cold Fusion | doi.org/10.13182/FST92-A29706
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A Fleischmann and Pons type experiment was carried out for ∼3 months in a ten-cell electrochemical system. All the cells were connected in series, and electrolysis was performed in galvanostatic mode at a maximum current of 2.5 A, corresponding on the average to 500 mA/cm2. In this experiment, all cathodes were made of palladium, and the anodes were made of platinum. In nine cells out often, the cathodes were shaped into parallelepipeds (25 × 5 × 5 mm3) by high-vacuum sintering according to a previously reported procedure. The starting material for all these electrodes was palladium sponge powder. The tenth cathode was made of 32 short 0.5-mm-diam palladium wires, gold welded together at one end. A similar concentration of screw dislocations was produced in each wire. Three different groups of sintered cathodes were used in the experiment, corresponding to three different sintering procedures. Nine cells contained 0.2 M LiOD in D2O as electrolyte. The tenth cell, containing a sintered cathode, was in 0.2 M LiOH in H2O. Measurements of neutrons, tritium in the solution and in the recombined gases, gamma rays, and electrode temperature were carried out. When the current density reached the highest values, a marked increase of the neutron detector count rate with respect to the background level (2 count/h) was observed. The emissions occurred in bursts. This behavior was observed for ∼10 days but only when the current density was set at >320 mA/cm2. In the first part of that period, an excess of tritium with respect to the expected value calculated for the electrolytic enrichment was found in three cells out of nine (one of the cells was in light water). This excess was about twice the amount expected with respect to the enrichment and about four times the initial tritium content in the heavy water (267 decay/min · ml). The other cells, including the one in light water, did not show any excess tritium, the value of which was in good agreement with the calculated value. Some aspects concerning the thermal behavior of the electrodes are also discussed.