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Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
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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.
A. Nikroo, D.A. Steinman
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 35 | Number 2 | March 1999 | Pages 212-215
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST99-A11963925
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
We have successfully sputter coated sub-micron layers of quartz onto plasma polymer shells. An agitation mechanism based on an electromagnetic shaker was used. Coatings as thin as 0.4 μm that retain their integrity have been deposited. These coatings have permeation rates against helium at room temperature that are similar to those of thermal quartz. However, the permeation rates to D2 and argon of coatings thinner than ≈ 2 μm are higher than expected. In contrast, coatings thicker than 2 μm had D2 half-lives that were long enough to make them useful as a permeation barrier. Diffusion along grain boundaries or through pinholes is a likely reason for the high permeation rates through the thinner coatings. Because plasma polymer becomes thermally unstable near 300°C, these composite shells have to be filled at a maximum temperature of 250°C.