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Division Spotlight
Education, Training & Workforce Development
The Education, Training & Workforce Development Division provides communication among the academic, industrial, and governmental communities through the exchange of views and information on matters related to education, training and workforce development in nuclear and radiological science, engineering, and technology. Industry leaders, education and training professionals, and interested students work together through Society-sponsored meetings and publications, to enrich their professional development, to educate the general public, and to advance nuclear and radiological science and engineering.
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!
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May 2024
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
How robust is HALEU from a nonproliferation perspective?
Shikha Prasad
High-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) has emerged as a popular fuel choice for advanced small modular reactors due to its long power production periods before refueling. It is currently being pursued by TerraPower, X-energy, BWX Technologies, Kairos, Oklo, and other reactor companies. HALEU has a uranium-235 enrichment ranging from 5 percent to 20 percent, whereas traditional LWRs use low-enriched uranium fuel enriched up to 5 percent.
HALEU will provide power for longer durations, compared with traditional LWRs. But could it also provide an opportunity for more rapid proliferation, as is speculated in a 2023 National Academy of Sciences report on advanced nuclear reactors (nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26630/)?
If a nuclear proliferator conspires to divert fresh nuclear fuel for weapons production when it has not been used in a reactor, the effort required in separative work units (SWUs) to enrich U-235 from 5 percent to 90 percent and that required to enrich from 20 percent to 90 percent are both very small, compared with the effort required to enrich U-235 from its natural abundance to the initial 5 percent.
Technical Session|Sponsored by Advanced/Novel Materials
Thursday, December 14, 2023|1:00–2:40PM CST|Galerie 5
Session Chair:
Janelle P. Wharry (Purdue Univeristy)
Track Organizers:
Kevin G. Field (Univ. Michigan)
Grace Burke (INL)
Benjamin Sutton (Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI))
Alternate Chair:
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Development of a Weldable Ni-30Cr Filler Metal 52XL for Nuclear Applications
1:00–1:40PM CST
C. Fink (Ohio State), A. Hope (Thermo-Calc Software), S.L. McCracken (EPRI), J.C. Lippold (Ohio State)
Paper
Mechanical Properties and Deformation Mechanisms of Electron Beam Welded PM-HIP Reactor Pressure Vessel Steels
1:40–2:00PM CST
E.H. Marrero (Purdue), G. Nemets (Purdue), J. Emerson (Purdue), Z. Shang (Purdue), Y. Lu (Boise State), M.A. Okuniewski (Purdue), J.P. Wharry (Purdue)
Effect of Laser Welding on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties in Ion-Irradiated MA956
2:00–2:20PM CST
E. Getto (U.S. Naval Academy), S. Stokes (U.S. Naval Academy), M. Swenson (Univ. Idaho)
Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction Characterization of the Phase Transformation Behaviors Induced by Electron Beam Welding in SA508 Reactor Pressure Vessel Steels
2:20–2:40PM CST
J. Emerson (Purdue), G. Nemets (Purdue), E.H. Marrero (Purdue), M. Topsakal (Brookhaven), S. Gill (Brookhaven), J.P. Wharry (Purdue), M.A. Okuniewski (Purdue)
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