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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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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The 2025 edition is a reinvigoration of the withdrawn ANS-54.8-1988 of the same title.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.
T. A. Gens, R. E. Blanco
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 11 | Number 3 | November 1961 | Pages 267-273
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE61-A26002
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A Modified Zirflex process was developed in the laboratory for dissolution of 1–10 % uranium-zirconium alloy fuels clad in Zircaloy-2 to produce a nitrate solution from which uranium can be recovered by conventional solvent extraction methods. A flowsheet is presented for dissolution of 7% uranium-zirconium alloy in 5.4 M NH4F-0.33 M NH4NO3. Enough 1 M H2O2 is added continually during dissolution to yield 0.13 M H2O2 in the final solution, neglecting the amount reacting. Dissolution of a 70-mil thick sample is complete in 1 hr. The solvent extraction feed is prepared by adding aluminum nitrate and nitric acid to the dissolver solution to yield a stable solvent extraction feed solution of 0.0075 M uranium, 0.25 M zirconium, 1 M aluminum, 2 M fluoride, and 1 M nitric acid. The off-gas is approximately 98.5% NH6, 1% H2, 0.3% O2, and 0.2% N2. Conventional stainless steel such as 309SNb or Hastelloy F appear to be suitable materials of construction with corrosion rates varying from 0.1 to 3.0 mils/month.
