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Aerospace Nuclear Science & Technology
Organized to promote the advancement of knowledge in the use of nuclear science and technologies in the aerospace application. Specialized nuclear-based technologies and applications are needed to advance the state-of-the-art in aerospace design, engineering and operations to explore planetary bodies in our solar system and beyond, plus enhance the safety of air travel, especially high speed air travel. Areas of interest will include but are not limited to the creation of nuclear-based power and propulsion systems, multifunctional materials to protect humans and electronic components from atmospheric, space, and nuclear power system radiation, human factor strategies for the safety and reliable operation of nuclear power and propulsion plants by non-specialized personnel and more.
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2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott 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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High-temperature plumbing and advanced reactors
The use of nuclear fission power and its role in impacting climate change is hotly debated. Fission advocates argue that short-term solutions would involve the rapid deployment of Gen III+ nuclear reactors, like Vogtle-3 and -4, while long-term climate change impact would rely on the creation and implementation of Gen IV reactors, “inherently safe” reactors that use passive laws of physics and chemistry rather than active controls such as valves and pumps to operate safely. While Gen IV reactors vary in many ways, one thing unites nearly all of them: the use of exotic, high-temperature coolants. These fluids, like molten salts and liquid metals, can enable reactor engineers to design much safer nuclear reactors—ultimately because the boiling point of each fluid is extremely high. Fluids that remain liquid over large temperature ranges can provide good heat transfer through many demanding conditions, all with minimal pressurization. Although the most apparent use for these fluids is advanced fission power, they have the potential to be applied to other power generation sources such as fusion, thermal storage, solar, or high-temperature process heat.1–3
Chaoliang Xu, Xiangbing Liu, Yuanfei Li, Wangjie Qian, Wenqing Jia, Qiwei Quan, Jian Yin
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 196 | Number 10 | October 2022 | Pages 1247-1254
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2022.2076484
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In order to investigate the correlation between irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) susceptibility and the magnetic properties of austenitic stainless steel after ion irradiation, the magnetic properties and phase transformation were studied using a vibrating sample magnetometer and synchrotron radiation grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) on an irradiated specimen up to 25 displacements per atom. GIXRD indicated that the body-centered-cubic (BCC) phase was introduced in austenitic stainless steel by ion irradiation. Then, magnetic hysteresis loop analysis was conducted to give a quantitative analysis on the BCC magnetic phase under different irradiation damage and annealing temperature conditions. Based on the fact that postirradiation annealing will eliminate IASCC susceptibility at 550°C for 1 h, a correlation between IASCC susceptibility and magnetic properties was discussed, and a corresponding IASCC evaluation method was developed.
