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Division Spotlight
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
Standards Program
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
May 2024
Jan 2024
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Securing the advanced reactor fleet
Physical protection accounts for a significant portion of a nuclear power plant’s operational costs. As the U.S. moves toward smaller and safer advanced reactors, similar protection strategies could prove cost prohibitive. For tomorrow’s small modular reactors and microreactors, security costs must remain appropriate to the size of the reactor for economical operation.
D. Díaz Barrero, T. L. Le, S. Niemes, S. Welte, M. Schlösser, B. Bornschein, H. H. Telle
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 80 | Number 3 | May 2024 | Pages 530-539
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2023.2194235
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An unavoidable category of molecular species in large-scale tritium applications, such as nuclear fusion, are tritium-substituted hydrocarbons, which form by radiochemical reactions in the presence of (circulating) tritium and carbon (mainly from the steel of vessels and tubing). Tritium-substituted methane species, CQ4 (with Q = H,D,T), are often the precursor for higher-order reaction chains, and thus are of particular interest. Here we describe the controlled production of CQ4 carried out in the CAPER facility of the Tritium Laboratory Karlsruhe, exploiting catalytic reactions and species enrichment via the CAPER integral permeator. CQ4 was generated in substantial quantities (>1000 cm3 at ~850 mbar, with CQ4content of up to ~20%). The samples were analyzed using laser Raman and mass spectrometry to determine the relative isotopologue composition and to trace the generation of tritiated chain hydrocarbons.