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
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Sep 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2025
Latest News
A new ANSI/ANS standard for liquid metal fire protection published
ANSI/ANS-54.8-2025, Liquid Metal Fire Protection in LMR Plants, received approval from the American National Standards Institute on September 2 and is now available for purchase.
The 2025 edition is a reinvigoration of the withdrawn ANS-54.8-1988 of the same title. The Advanced Reactor Codes and Standards Collaborative (ARCSC) identified the need for a current version of the standard via an industry survey.
Typical liquid metal reactor designs use liquid sodium as the coolant for both the primary and intermediate heat-transport systems. In addition, liquid sodium and NaK (a mixture of sodium and potassium that is liquid at room temperature) are often used in auxiliary heat-removal systems. Since these liquid metals can react readily with oxygen, water, and other compounds, special precautions must be taken in the design, construction, testing, and maintenance of the sodium/NaK systems to ensure that the potential for leakage is very small.
P. E. Reagan, F. L. Carlsen, R. M. Carroll
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 18 | Number 3 | March 1964 | Pages 301-318
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE64-A20051
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Fission-gas release from pyrolytic-carbon-coated uranium carbide particles was studied as part of a fuel-development program for gas-cooled reactors. The particles were contained in a test capsule between concentric cylinders of porous graphite and were heated by fission heat. A small flow of helium was used to sweep the fission gas from the test capsule. Uranium carbide particles coated with three types of pyrolytic carbon (laminar, columnar, and duplex), as well as uncoated uranium carbide particles, were irradiated at temperatures up to 1800 F. The steady-state fission-gas release rates were measured as a function of temperature and burnup. All three coating types greatly reduced the fission-gas release rate from uranium carbide particles; the duplex coating was much better than the laminar or the columnar coatings. Post-irradiation examination revealed less than 0.1% broken coatings for the duplex coating. A radiation-induced reaction zone was observed at the fuel/coating interface for all three types. A correlation was made between the number of broken coatings and fission-gas release rate.