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Chernobyl at 40 years: Looking back at Nuclear News
Sunday, April 26, at 1:23 a.m. local time will mark 40 years since the most severe nuclear accident in history: the meltdown of Unit 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union.
In the ensuing four decades, countless books, documentaries, articles, and conference sessions have examined Chernobyl’s history and impact from various angles. There is a similar abundance of outlooks in the archives of Nuclear News, where hundreds of scientists, advocates, critics, and politicians have shared their thoughts on Chernobyl over the years. Today, we will take a look at some highlights from the pages of NN to see how the story of Chernobyl evolved over the decades.
Teruya Tanaka, Hiroyuki Noto, Fuminobu Sato, Yoshimitsu Hishinuma, Hiroyuki A. Sakaue, Masahito Yoshino
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 75 | Number 8 | November 2019 | Pages 1076-1083
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2019.1658039
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
To examine the impact of nuclear transmutation in K-type and N-type thermocouples on temperature measurements in a fusion reactor, thermocouples with altered compositions were fabricated, and their responses were obtained at up to 800°C. The compositions of the thermocouples were altered according to transmutation calculations simulating the 3.5-, 4.6-, and 7-year use at the first wall and 40-year use at the front surface of the radiation shield. Comparison of the responses with commercial thermocouples at 800°C showed that the K-type and N-type thermocouples with altered composition simulating the 7-year use at the first wall indicate 20% to 25% lower temperatures. In this condition, the weight ratio of additive powders for simulation of transmuted elements was ~3%. The differences of responses between the commercial thermocouples and thermocouples simulating transmutation are dependent on the weight ratio of the additive powders. The present data could be used for estimation of response degradation of thermocouples used for long-term operation in a fusion reactor.