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Division Spotlight
Radiation Protection & Shielding
The Radiation Protection and Shielding Division is developing and promoting radiation protection and shielding aspects of nuclear science and technology — including interaction of nuclear radiation with materials and biological systems, instruments and techniques for the measurement of nuclear radiation fields, and radiation shield design and evaluation.
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 Fuels and Actinide Materials
Thursday, December 14, 2023|8:00–9:40AM CST|Galerie 3
Session Chair:
Benjamin W. Beeler (NCSU)
Alternate Chair:
Assel Aitkaliyeva (Univ. Florida)
Track Organizers:
Jian Gan (INL)
Michael Tonks (Univ. Florida)
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Sintering Behaviors of (Zr, Nb, Ta)C Tri-Carbides as a Fuel for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion
8:00–8:20AM CST
Jonas R. Kessing (Univ. Tennessee, Knoxville), Alexander T. Nadermann (Univ. Tennessee, Knoxville), Brandon Shaver (Univ. Tennessee, Knoxville), Justin Milner (NASA Glenn Research Center), Kelsa Palomares (Analytical Mechanics Assoc.), Steven J. Zinkle (Univ. Tennessee, Knoxville)
Paper
Presentation Slides (Visible to Attendees)
Analysis of Solute Interdiffusion Kinetics Based on Classic High Temperature Diffusion Couple Tests of ZrC, NbC, and TaC Carbides as Surrogate Fuels for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Systems
8:20–8:40AM CST
Alexander T. Nadermann (Univ. Tennessee, Knoxville), Jonas R. Kessing (Univ. Tennessee, Knoxville), Brandon Shaver (Univ. Tennessee, Knoxville), Justin Milner (NASA Glenn Research Center), Kelsa Palomores (Analytical Mechanics Assoc.), Steven J. Zinkle (Univ. Tennessee, Knoxville)
Chemical Vapor Deposition and Infiltration of ZrC for Space Nuclear Propulsion
8:40–9:00AM CST
E. Lopez-Honorato (ORNL), R. Heldt (ORNL), P. Doyle (ORNL), W. Cureton (ORNL), K. Montoya (ORNL), D. Richardson (ORNL), G. Helmreich (ORNL), T. Gerczak (ORNL)
Phase Equilibria and Thermodynamics of Tetra-Carbide Fuels for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion
9:00–9:20AM CST
R.E. Booth (Univ. South Carolina), J. Rizk (LANL), N.M. Abdul-Jabbar (LANL), E. Kardoulaki (LANL), J. Rosales (NASA), T.M. Besmann (Univ. South Carolina)
Impact of Fluidization Behavior on the Development of Coated Particle Fuels
9:20–9:40AM CST
Eddie Lopez Honorato (ORNL), Elvis Dominguez-Ontiveros (ORNL), Ryan Heldt (ORNL), Katherine Montoya (ORNL), Tyler J. Gerczak (ORNL), John D. Hunn (ORNL)
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