ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Robotics & Remote Systems
The Mission of the Robotics and Remote Systems Division is to promote the development and application of immersive simulation, robotics, and remote systems for hazardous environments for the purpose of reducing hazardous exposure to individuals, reducing environmental hazards and reducing the cost of performing work.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
Latest Magazine Issues
Apr 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Glass strategy: Hanford’s enhanced waste glass program
The mission of the Department of Energy’s Office of River Protection (ORP) is to complete the safe cleanup of waste resulting from decades of nuclear weapons development. One of the most technologically challenging responsibilities is the safe disposition of approximately 56 million gallons of radioactive waste historically stored in 177 tanks at the Hanford Site in Washington state.
ORP has a clear incentive to reduce the overall mission duration and cost. One pathway is to develop and deploy innovative technical solutions that can advance baseline flow sheets toward higher efficiency operations while reducing identified risks without compromising safety. Vitrification is the baseline process that will convert both high-level and low-level radioactive waste at Hanford into a stable glass waste form for long-term storage and disposal.
Although vitrification is a mature technology, there are key areas where technology can further reduce operational risks, advance baseline processes to maximize waste throughput, and provide the underpinning to enhance operational flexibility; all steps in reducing mission duration and cost.
Faten N. Al Zubaidi, Kyle L. Walton, Robert V. Tompson, Tushar K. Ghosh, Sudarshan K. Loyalka
Nuclear Technology | Volume 205 | Number 6 | June 2019 | Pages 790-800
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2018.1542257
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The effect of long-term oxidation on the total hemispherical emissivity of Type 316L stainless steel (SS 316L) is of interest in nuclear plant safety and is reported on here. ASTM standard C835-06 [American Society for Testing and Materials, 2006] was used for measuring the total hemispherical emissivity of this material for the following surface conditions: (1) “as-received” from the manufacturer (essentially unoxidized) and (2) oxidized in air at 573 K for up to 3000 h. The emissivity of the as-received samples varied within the range from 0.24 at 434 K to 0.34 at 1026 K. Oxidation in air at 573 K for 500 h increased the emissivity range of the oxidized sample from 0.28 at 429 K to 0.38 at 1096 K. There was no further significant change in emissivity observed following an increase in the oxidation time from 500 to 3000 h. It is suspected that the emissivity ceased to increase during the additional oxidation time because of chromium oxide that formed on the SS 316L surface inhibiting further oxidation.