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Conference Spotlight
2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
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Nuclear Technology
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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
NRC nominee Nieh commits to independent safety mission
During a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing today, Ho Nieh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as a commissioner at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, was urged to maintain the agency’s independence regardless of political pressure from the Trump administration.
Yuriy Ponkratov, Kuanysh Samarkhanov, Yerbolat Koyanbayev, Yuliya Baklanova, Yuriy Gordienko, Yevgeniy Tulubayev, Yekaterina Martynenko, Vadim Bochkov, Radmila Sabitova, Eldana Saparbek
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 81 | Number 4 | May 2025 | Pages 300-309
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2024.2388421
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The implementation of the ITER and DEMO projects currently includes the investigation of the structural and functional material properties of fusion reactors (FRs). Research to support the use of liquid metals and alloys as plasma-facing materials (PFMs) is a crucial area of work during the development of new FRs. Recent studies indicate the prospects of the tin-lithium (Sn-Li) alloy as a new liquid metal for protecting the in-vessel elements of a FR from the energy flows and high-density particles. Sn-Li alloy has been widely explored for utilization as PFM; however, there is a shortage of investigations being performed at nuclear reactors. The utilization of Sn-Li alloy as PFM in a FR must be fully justified by validated experimental results on tests under extremely high heat, plasma, and radiation loads.
The paper presents the methodology of in-pile experiments performed at the IVG.1M research reactor (Kurchatov, Kazakhstan) to study the interaction of hydrogen isotopes with Sn-Li alloy under neutron irradiation conditions. A Sn-Li sample with 73 at. % tin and 27 at. % lithium was manufactured. A unique experimental ampoule device (AD) with a Sn-Li sample had been developed and manufactured for in-pile tests. The results of neutron-physical and thermophysical calculations of designs of the experimental device with Sn-Li alloy under irradiation conditions of the IVG.1M reactor were performed to justify the AD design. Methodical experiments were performed to determine the temperature dependence of the change in the composition of the gas phase in the chamber with Sn-Li alloy. The time dependence of the partial pressure of hydrogen, tritium, and tritium-containing molecules in the AD volume with the Sn-Li alloy on its temperature under reactor irradiation conditions at a power of 3 MW has been studied. Key findings include the successful measurement of tritium release, the determination of temperature conditions for tritium generation and release, and the validation of our experimental AD for conducting such studies.
