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 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Aug 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
October 2026
Nuclear Technology
September 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2026
Latest News
Front-end nuclear fuel supply cooperation: Turning allied interdependence into strategic advantage
The global nuclear revival, which is fueled by unprecedented demand for firm, affordable, dispatchable power for artificial intelligence and data center build-out, energy security imperatives, and climate commitments, has exposed a structural reality of the Western fuel cycle: No single allied nation currently possesses the full suite of front-end capabilities. From mining through conversion, enrichment, fabrication, and the emerging deconversion and metallization steps required for reactor fuels, capability is distributed across Canada, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States (collectively, the “Sapporo Five”), as well as a small group of close partners.
Myron B. Reynolds
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 1 | Number 5 | October 1956 | Pages 374-390
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE56-A28776
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The rare gases have not been shown to exhibit measurable equilibrium solubility in metals, nor do any common metals exhibit measurable permeability to the rare gases. By means of nuclear reactions, however, “solid solutions” of rare gases in metals may be produced which permit the rare gas diffusion process to be studied. Results of work on the system radiokrypton-uranium are presented. Diffusion of radiokrypton from small cylinders of irradiated normal uranium was found to be negligible at temperatures below 1000°C. The diffusion rate was found to be quite temperature-sensitive and was considerably enhanced by thermal cycling. Swelling of the metal specimen during the diffusion process and the fact that the theoretical time dependence was never observed, leads to the conclusion that gas escape is by way of grain boundaries or microcracks. A possible mechanism to explain the thermal cycling behavior is presented.