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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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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Strontium: Supply-and-demand success for the DOE’s Isotope Program
The Department of Energy’s Isotope Program (DOE IP) announced last week that it would end its “active standby” capability for strontium-82 production about two decades after beginning production of the isotope for cardiac diagnostic imaging. The DOE IP is celebrating commercialization of the Sr-82 supply chain as “a success story for both industry and the DOE IP.” Now that the Sr-82 market is commercially viable, the DOE IP and its National Isotope Development Center can “reassign those dedicated radioisotope production capacities to other mission needs”—including Sr-89.
S. Le Tacon, A. Brodier, C. Chicanne, M. Theobald
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 70 | Number 2 | August-September 2016 | Pages 351-357
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST15-240
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Some experiments implemented on the Laser Megajoule facility (LMJ) require the use of the rare-earth (RE) elements, the lanthanides (57 < Z < 71). Rare-earth metals are known to be unstable under atmospheric conditions and some of them are extremely reactive with air. They may react with oxygen and humidity to form RE oxides. In the present work, we study the oxidation of different RE thin films (gadolinium, dysprosium, and praseodymium) prepared by physical vapor deposition. Energy-dispersion spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, and weight measurement are performed to characterize the corrosion mechanisms as a function of time and aging atmospheres (air, dry box, and vacuum). It appears that the oxidation kinetics depends on atomic number and microstructure of the films. Praseodymium coatings are very quickly corroded (in a few hours) when exposed to air and degrade to a yellow powder. Aluminum layers, used as a diffusion barrier, allow us to preserve praseodymium coatings over a period of several weeks when aging in a dry box. Gadolinium and dysprosium coatings (without a protective layer) are preserved from corrosion due to the formation of a passivation layer on their surface. Whatever Z, a dense microstructure permits us to limit the oxygen content and allows us to stabilize the residual stress.