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Human Factors, Instrumentation & Controls
Improving task performance, system reliability, system and personnel safety, efficiency, and effectiveness are the division's main objectives. Its major areas of interest include task design, procedures, training, instrument and control layout and placement, stress control, anthropometrics, psychological input, and motivation.
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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
College students help develop waste-measuring device at Hanford
A partnership between Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) and Washington State University has resulted in the development of a device to measure radioactive and chemical tank waste at the Hanford Site. WRPS is the contractor at Hanford for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management.
Catharina Nästrén, Asunción Fernandéz-Carretero, Joseph Somers
Nuclear Technology | Volume 181 | Number 2 | February 2013 | Pages 331-336
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-A15787
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Use of composites of actinide oxides dispersed in a Mo metal matrix is a recent inert matrix fuel concept for the transmutation of Pu and the minor actinides (Np, Am, and Cm). These elements are present in spent nuclear fuel, and their long-term radiotoxicity can be minimized if they are recovered from the fuel and irradiated in dedicated targets in nuclear reactors. The synthesis of such highly radioactive fuels is not simple, and given the high radiotoxicity of Am, the safety of operation of such a process must be examined for production of small-scale analytical batches. Infiltration of americium nitrate into porous PuO2 beads has potential safety bonuses. The beads are produced by a sol-gel external gelation route. Tests have been developed here with CeO2, as a surrogate for PuO2, and have been optimized for both bead production and pelletization of a blend of calcined beads and Mo powder. Addition of carbon to the sol-gel feed solution and its subsequent pyrolysis provides a means to optimize the porosity of the oxide beads. The carbon acts as a pore former. The highest-quality product meeting typical fuel specifications required addition of 20 g/l carbon in the sol-gel feed and calcination of the CeO2 beads at 800°C. Subsequent Mo cermet composites with 20 or 40 vol% of ceramic reached densities in excess of 90% of the theoretical value as is required for nuclear reactor applications. Finally, the step from CeO2 surrogates to (Pu, Am)O2 targets has been made and pellets of excellent quality produced.