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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
International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
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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Latest News
Argonne’s METL gears up to test more sodium fast reactor components
Argonne National Laboratory has successfully swapped out an aging cold trap in the sodium test loop called METL (Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop), the Department of Energy announced April 23. The upgrade is the first of its kind in the United States in more than 30 years, according to the DOE, and will help test components and operations for the sodium-cooled fast reactors being developed now.
P. F. Nichols, J. R. Worden, F. C. Engesser, R. E. Heineman
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 15 | Number 3 | March 1963 | Pages 233-244
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE63-A26434
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A series of experimental measurements has been made on the Experimental Gas Cooled Reactor (EGCR) lattice in the Physical Constants Test Reactor (PCTR). The measurements provide a broad basis for normalization of reactor calculations for lattices of this type. The fuel assembly is a cluster of seven uranium oxide rods, enriched in the U235 isotope and clad with stainless steel. The fuel is spaced on an eight-inch square pitch in a graphite moderator. Values of the lattice parameters k∝ , f, p, and e have been obtained for 1.8% enrichment of the uranium oxide fuel. The values of k∝ and f have also been obtained for 2.6% enrichment fuel. The techniques of using the PCTR have been extended so that supercell measurements may be made. The values of the strength of a boron carbide control rod and a stainless steel loop tube have been obtained in this way. The strength of such an inhomogeneous poison in the lattice is expressed as the difference in the supercell multiplication factor k∝ with and without the poison in the supercell. This difference is the same quantity which is obtained in the usual reactor cell calculation. The fuel temperature coefficient of for this cluster has also been measured between 50 and 500°C. The coefficient obtained is temperature dependent. The more important of the lattice parameters for the 1.8% enriched fuel are = 1.146 ± 0.004,f = 0.809 ± 0.005, p28 = 0.824 ± 0.006, ∈ = 1.019 ± 0.002, Δk (control rod -16 cell supercell) = -0.157 ± 0.012, Δk (empty loop tube -9 cell supercell) = -0.117 ± 0.011, and (l/k∞)(dk∞/dT) = -(0.68 ± 0.05) X 10-3T-1/2(oK)-1 For the 2.6% enriched fuel, results are k∞ = 1.256 ± 0.009 and f = 0.845 ± 0.006.