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The busyness of the nuclear fuel supply chain
Ken Petersenpresident@ans.org
With all that is happening in the industry these days, the nuclear fuel supply chain is still a hot topic. The Russian assault in Ukraine continues to upend the “where” and “how” of attaining nuclear fuel—and it has also motivated U.S. legislators to act.
Two years into the Russian war with Ukraine, things are different. The Inflation Reduction Act was passed in 2022, authorizing $700 million in funding to support production of high-assay low-enriched uranium in the United States. Meanwhile, the Department of Energy this January issued a $500 million request for proposals to stimulate new HALEU production. The Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2024 includes $2.7 billion in funding for new uranium enrichment production. This funding was diverted from the Civil Nuclear Credits program and will only be released if there is a ban on importing Russian uranium into the United States—which could happen by the time this column is published, as legislation that bans Russian uranium has passed the House as of this writing and is headed for the Senate. Also being considered is legislation that would sanction Russian uranium. Alternatively, the Biden-Harris administration may choose to ban Russian uranium without legislation in order to obtain access to the $2.7 billion in funding.
K. Sathyanarayana, S. V. Kulkarni, Amit Patel, Pujita Bhatt, Alpesh Vala, Hiren Mewada, Keyur Mahant
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 75 | Number 3 | April 2019 | Pages 234-243
Technical Note | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2018.1557984
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The impact of geometric tolerances of the mode converters on the microwave performance of the respective mode converters is studied. It is used as a guiding principle for stipulating the fabrication tolerances on various high-power microwave components. To carry out the simulation studies, Microwave Studio- Computer Simulation Technology software has been used. All the mode converters and transmission line components have been designed and benchmarked using simulation studies. The TE-03 to TE-02 (TE-mn where m and n are radial and azimuthal variation of fields) mode converter is taken as an example. The predicted microwave performance with estimated geometric tolerances is elucidated. Details of the same are available in the various microwave performance plots. Similar simulation studies have been carried out on the other mode converters. The results of the same are highlighted and summarized. Further, the microwave performance of these high-power components with respect to the fabrication tolerances on the internal diameter is also explored and highlighted. It has been found that by and large the cumulative mechanical tolerances on the total length, structural profile inside the mode converter, radius of the mode converter, and other mechanical dimensions are stringent. Based on the simulation studies, cumulative mechanical tolerances beyond approximately ±100 µm during fabrication are not preferred. The aim to obtain the finished product based on the guidelines from simulation studies has been the main theme of the exercise.