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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
The RAIN scale: A good intention that falls short
Radiation protection specialists agree that clear communication of radiation risks remains a vexing challenge that cannot be solved solely by finding new ways to convey technical information.
Earlier this year, an article in Nuclear News described a new radiation risk communication tool, known as the Radiation Index, or, RAIN (“Let it RAIN: A new approach to radiation communication,” NN, Jan. 2025, p. 36). The authors of the article created the RAIN scale to improve radiation risk communication to the general public who are not well-versed in important aspects of radiation exposures, including radiation dose quantities, units, and values; associated health consequences; and the benefits derived from radiation exposures.
Hyoungil Kim, Jaafar El-Awady, Jennifer Quan, Shahram Sharafat, Vijay Gupta, Nasr Ghoniem
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 52 | Number 4 | November 2007 | Pages 875-879
Technical Paper | First Wall, Blanket, and Shield | doi.org/10.13182/FST07-A1603
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The High Average Power Laser (HAPL) project is pursuing development of an IFE power reactor using a solid first wall chamber. Tungsten has been chosen as the primary candidate armor material protecting the low activation ferritic steel chamber wall structure. The tungsten armor is less than 1-mm thick and is applied by vacuum plasma spraying (VPS). The failure strength of the tungsten-armor is critical, which is measured using a state-of-the-art spallation technology developed at UCLA. A nano-second laser is used to propagate a compression/tension stress wave through the composite layered structure. The tensile strength in the coating is then related to the displacement velocity of the free surface of the tungsten coating. VPS tungsten coated steel samples were tested using the laser spallation technique and coating strengths were evaluated and are reported.