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Conference Spotlight
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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Nuclear energy for maritime shipping and coastal applications
The Boston-based Deon Policy Institute has published a white paper that examines the applications of nuclear energy in the maritime sector—specifically, floating nuclear power plants and nuclear propulsion for commercial vessels. Topics covered include available technologies, preliminary cost estimates, and a status update on the regulatory framework.
Unique opportunity: The paper points out that nuclear energy has the potential to benefit the shipping industry with high energy efficiency, lower operating costs, and zero carbon emissions. The report has a special focus on Greece, a nation that controls about 20 percent of the global commercial fleet and thus has an opportunity to take a leading role in the transition to nuclear-powered shipping.
J. M. Blocker, Jr., M. F. Browning, W. J. Wilson, V. M. Secrest, A. C. Secrest, R. B. Landrigan, J. H. Oxley
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 20 | Number 2 | October 1964 | Pages 153-170
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE64-A28930
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Of the several factors tending toward failure of fuel-particle coatings in irradiation, fuel swelling and radiation damage to the first 15–20 μm of coating by fission recoils are concluded to- deserve the greatest immediate attention. Whereas ceramic coatings of sufficient thickness might withstand the stress, thinner coatings containing cushion layers or voids can be designed in principle to accommodate the effects of radiation damage. This has been demonstrated for pyrolytic carbon and alumina coatings formed by chemical vapor-deposition reactions. These principles cannot be applied to oriented coatings whose grains suffer anisotropic radiation damage by neutrons. This factor may ultimately limit the applicability of BeO coatings. Crushing strength, density, and hardness data are presented which show that pyrolytic carbon coatings with the same microstructure can have a wide range of properties. It is concluded that pyrolytic carbon coatings are not properly characterized by the terms ‘laminar’ and ‘columnar’ frequently used to describe their appearance. In the case of Al and Be coatings obtained by hydrolysis of the respective chloride vapors, deposition temperature is the most significant factor determining grain structure and permeability. A12O3 coatings range from porous amorphous varieties, through an impermeable ‘glass’ to elongated grains extending through the coating. The equivalent of the Al2O3 glass has not been observed in the BeO coatings. MgO coatings can be expected to be of limited utility because of low strength. ZrO2 coatings have the deficiency of permitting rapid oxygen diffusion.