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Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
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2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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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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Fusion Science and Technology
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Proof of concept: The Molten Salt Reactor Experiment in Nuclear News
By late 1960, when the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission authorized plans to build a Molten Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the lab already had about 13 years of experimentation with molten salt reactors under its longest-serving lab director, Alvin Weinberg. The MSRE operated from 1965 to 1969, proving that molten salt reactors could operate reliably, and with alternatives to uranium-235 too.
A. N. Perevezentsev, L. A. Bernstein, L. A. Rivkis, I. G. Prykina, V. V. Aleksandrov, I. A. Ionessian, M. I. Belyakov, I. B. Kuprianov
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 72 | Number 1 | July 2017 | Pages 1-16
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2016.1273659
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The subject of this study is the evaluation of tritium outgassing and removal from metals such as tungsten, beryllium, stainless steel, and copper alloy. In addition, a composite sample assembled from tungsten, copper alloy, and stainless steel was also studied. Samples of individual materials and composite samples were of thicknesses and compositions representing the internal components of the ITER vacuum vessel. The samples of materials were loaded with tritium by exposure to a gaseous tritium-deuterium mixture (about 1:1) at a temperature of 473 K and a pressure of about 0.05 MPa. The rate of outgassing was measured at temperatures of about 295, 308, and 323 K under static or dynamic atmospheres either of ambient air or dry air or argon. The study allows recommendation of conditions for storage of in-vessel components and reduction of the rate of tritium outgassing. The metals’ samples were also subject to study of tritium removal by thermal desorption under purge with argon containing 5 vol % of hydrogen. The study has demonstrated that this detritiation procedure allows for removal of large portions of the tritium inventory and substantial reduction in tritium outgassing rates.