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Division Spotlight
Materials Science & Technology
The objectives of MSTD are: promote the advancement of materials science in Nuclear Science Technology; support the multidisciplines which constitute it; encourage research by providing a forum for the presentation, exchange, and documentation of relevant information; promote the interaction and communication among its members; and recognize and reward its members for significant contributions to the field of materials science in nuclear technology.
Meeting Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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!
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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Take steps on SNF and HLW disposal
Matt Bowen
With a new administration and Congress, it is time once again to ponder what will happen—if anything—on U.S. spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste management policy over the next few years. One element of the forthcoming discussion seems clear: The executive and legislative branches are eager to talk about recycling commercial SNF. Whatever the merits of doing so, it does not obviate the need for one or more facilities for disposal of remaining long-lived radionuclides. For that reason, making progress on U.S. disposal capabilities remains urgent, lest the associated radionuclide inventories simply be left for future generations to deal with.
In March, Rick Perry, who was secretary of energy during President Trump’s first administration, observed that during his tenure at the Department of Energy it became clear to him that any plan to move SNF “required some practical consent of the receiving state and local community.”1
B. J. Haid, T. N. Malsbury, C. R. Gibson, C. T. Warren
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 55 | Number 3 | April 2009 | Pages 276-282
Technical Paper | Eighteenth Target Fabrication Specialists' Meeting | doi.org/10.13182/FST08-3451
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A single quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is cooled to 18 K to measure condensation rates inside of a retractable shroud enclosure. The shroud is designed to minimize condensate on fusion targets to be fielded at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The shroud has a double-walled construction with an inner wall that may be cooled to 75 to 100 K.The QCM and the shroud system were mounted in a vacuum chamber and cooled using a cryocooler. Condensation rates were measured at various vacuum levels and compositions and with the shroud open or closed. A technique for measuring total condensate during the cooldown of the system with an accuracy of >1 × 10-6 g/cm2 was also demonstrated. The technique involves a separate measurement of the condensate-free crystal frequency as a function of temperature that is compared to the measurement for the cooldown trend of interest. The shroud significantly reduces the condensation rates of all gases and effectively eliminates H2O condensation.
