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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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!
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Nuclear Dirigo
On April 22, 1959, Rear Admiral George J. King, superintendent of the Maine Maritime Academy, announced that following the completion of the 1960 training cruise, cadets would begin the study of nuclear engineering. Courses at that time included radiation physics, reactor control and instrumentation, reactor theory and engineering, thermodynamics, shielding, core design, reactor maintenance, and nuclear aspects.
Toshiro Sakabe, Yasuyuki Ogino, Keisuke Mukai, Juro Yagi, Mahmoud Bakr
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 80 | Number 5 | July 2024 | Pages 653-665
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2023.2227821
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The glow discharge–type fusion neutron source is a compact system that generates neutrons by inducing a nuclear fusion reaction between ionized-trapped deuterium and/or tritium in the system potential well. This study aims to clarify the relationship between the neutron production rate (NPR) and the deuterium depth distribution on the cathode surface. Four units of nontransparent cathodes fabricated from stainless steel as the electrode’s base material was investigated. Two units were coated with diamond-like carbon (DLC) and titanium, which have different affinities for hydrogen isotopes, and two were uncoated units. The NPR and cathode depth profiles were determined and scanned at different operating conditions for the coated cathodes and then compared to the uncoated ones.
The results revealed that the DLC-coated cathode showed much higher NPR than the other units. The increase in NPR for the system implementing a DLC-coated cathode relative to the uncoated cathode ranged from 4.7 to 10 times. In addition, the depth profile for the nontransparent cathodes showed that the deuterium concentration on/in the DLC-coated surface was more significant by about one order of magnitude than that of the other cathodes. The increase in the NPR can be attributed to the high affinity of the DLC to capture deuterium on a cathode surface. The study suggests that DLC is a promising coating for the electrode in the neutron source at low operating conditions of less than 2 kW. In the meantime, further experimental studies are planned to find more candidate materials with better performance and higher and more stable NPR as a function of time.