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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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2022 ANS Winter Meeting and Technology Expo
November 13–17, 2022
Phoenix, AZ|Arizona Grand Resort
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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
CNSC vendor design review of eVinci microreactor to begin
Westinghouse's eVinci microreactor (Image: Westinghouse)
Westinghouse Electric Company has signed a service agreement with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) to bring the eVinci microreactor closer to commercialization, the company announced Tuesday. The agreement initiates a vendor design review (VDR)—a prelicensing technical assessment of a company’s reactor technology.
The objective of a VDR, according to the CNSC, is to verify the acceptability of a nuclear power plant design with respect to Canadian nuclear regulatory requirements and expectations, as well as Canadian codes and standards. The review also aims to identify fundamental barriers to licensing a new design in Canada and to assure that a resolution path exists for any design issues identified.
M. Sharpe, C. Fagan, W. T. Shmayda
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 75 | Number 8 | November 2019 | Pages 1053-1057
Technical Paper | dx.doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2019.1644136
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The distribution of tritium in the near surface of Type 316 stainless steel has been measured using a combination of a zinc chloride (ZnCl2) wash and acid etching with diluted aqua regia. This method improves upon etching measurements reported in the literature: Results show depth resolutions of ~10 nm using the diluted aqua regia. The ZnCl2 wash results show very high surface concentration (~1.5 × 1013 Bq/cm3), which decreases by a factor of 106 after etching to a depth of ~10 μm. Further, the tritium concentrations in the near surface (<10 μm) of unmodified stainless steel samples do not change significantly over the course of 233 days, which indicates a quasi-equilibrium state has been reached. Tritium migration to the surface from the subsurface region was measured by etching a sample and then storing it in air for 2 to 4 days. After storing in air, the surface concentrations increased a thousandfold and rapidly decreased to base levels after etching an additional ~2 μm. These measurements indicate that perturbing the quasi-equilibrium concentration profile results in tritium migration to the surface in order to reestablish the prior equilibrium state.
