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Members are devoted to applying nuclear science and engineering technologies involving isotopes, radiation applications, and associated equipment in scientific research, development, and industrial processes. Their interests lie primarily in education, industrial uses, biology, medicine, and health physics. Division committees include Analytical Applications of Isotopes and Radiation, Biology and Medicine, Radiation Applications, Radiation Sources and Detection, and Thermal Power Sources.
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2024 ANS Annual Conference
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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Glass strategy: Hanford’s enhanced waste glass program
The mission of the Department of Energy’s Office of River Protection (ORP) is to complete the safe cleanup of waste resulting from decades of nuclear weapons development. One of the most technologically challenging responsibilities is the safe disposition of approximately 56 million gallons of radioactive waste historically stored in 177 tanks at the Hanford Site in Washington state.
ORP has a clear incentive to reduce the overall mission duration and cost. One pathway is to develop and deploy innovative technical solutions that can advance baseline flow sheets toward higher efficiency operations while reducing identified risks without compromising safety. Vitrification is the baseline process that will convert both high-level and low-level radioactive waste at Hanford into a stable glass waste form for long-term storage and disposal.
Although vitrification is a mature technology, there are key areas where technology can further reduce operational risks, advance baseline processes to maximize waste throughput, and provide the underpinning to enhance operational flexibility; all steps in reducing mission duration and cost.
Dongxun Zhang, Wei Liu, Wenguan Liu
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 76 | Number 4 | May 2020 | Pages 543-552
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2020.1725368
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
With the method of gas-driven permeation, a series of permeation experiments was carried out using Hastelloy N alloy membrane in an elevated temperature range of 400°C to 800°C with different hydrogen isotopes. A complete set of permeability, diffusivity, and Sieverts’ constant for hydrogen and deuterium in Hastelloy N alloy was successfully obtained. The isotope effect in the diffusion process was analyzed and compared with references. The ratios of diffusive transport parameters for hydrogen and deuterium were a permeability ratio of ФH/ФD = 1.32exp(0.34kJ/RT), a diffusivity ratio of DH/DD = 1.15exp(−0.41kJ/RT), and a Sieverts’ constant ratio of KS,H/KS,D = 1.16exp(0.21kJ/RT). The result that the permeation flux of deuterium was decreased after introducing hydrogen could be used to suppress the permeation of tritium in future tritium control of the Fluoride-salt-cooled High-temperature Reactor (FHR). Compared with NiO, the Cr2O3 formed in the surface oxidation layer of Hastelloy N alloy showed better hydrogen permeation barrier performance after baking above 700°C in air.
