ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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
Dec 2025
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
December 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
November 2025
Latest News
3D-printed tool at SRS makes quicker work of tank waste sampling
A 3D-printed tool has been developed at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina that can eliminate months from the job of radioactive tank waste sampling.
S. R. Hatcher, H. K. Rae
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 10 | Number 4 | August 1961 | Pages 316-330
doi.org/10.13182/NSE61-A15373
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The formation of a colloidal suspension of hydrated aluminum oxide, Gibbsite or α-Al2O3 · 3D2O, in the heavy water of the NRU reactor is described, and compared with turbidity formation in other aluminum-water reactor systems. The observed corrosion rate of aluminum in NRU is consistent with a mass transfer mechanism involving the continuous dissolution of the corrosion product film. Two primary mechanisms for removing the dissolved aluminum from solution are postulated. These are direct crystallization onto deposits in the heat exchangers and direct crystallization onto Gibbsite particles in the water. The former effectively removes alumina from the system while the latter produces turbidity in the water. The rate of appearance of turbidity depends on its rate of formation and its rate of removal by the purification system. Turbidity is removed by filtration and adsorption in the ion-exchange columns and by evaporation. It is desirable to reduce the rate of formation of turbidity by choosing water conditions which minimize the solubility of the corrosion product film, rather than controlling the turbidity level by an adequate purification capacity.