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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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Remembering ANS member Gil Brown
Brown
The nuclear community is mourning the loss of Gilbert Brown, who passed away on July 11 at the age of 77 following a battle with cancer.
Brown, an American Nuclear Society Fellow and an ANS member for nearly 50 years, joined the faculty at Lowell Technological Institute—now the University of Massachusetts–Lowell—in 1973 and remained there for the rest of his career. He eventually became director of the UMass Lowell nuclear engineering program. After his retirement, he remained an emeritus professor at the university.
Sukesh Aghara, chair of the Nuclear Engineering Department Heads Organization, noted in an email to NEDHO members and others that “Gil was a relentless advocate for nuclear energy and a deeply respected member of our professional community. He was also a kind and generous friend—and one of the reasons I ended up at UMass Lowell. He served the university with great dedication. . . . Within NEDHO, Gil was a steady presence and served for many years as our treasurer. His contributions to nuclear engineering education and to this community will be dearly missed.”
M. S. Mills, J. M. Gogolski, T. S. Rudisill
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 199 | Number 9 | September 2025 | Pages 1528-1545
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2025.2457221
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Simulated dissolved stainless steel–clad plutonium (Pu) and plutonium/uranium nuclear fuel in nitric acid (HNO3) was neutralized to a free hydroxide (OH−) concentration of 0.6 M. A thermal neutron poison, gadolinium (Gd), was added to the simulants at concentrations of either ~3 to 6 g/L or ~37 to 38 g/L. The supernate Pu concentration on the day of neutralization ranged from 0.48 to 8.75 mg/L. The supernate Pu concentration of a simplified simulant neutralized to 0.6 M OH− above precipitated solids containing Pu was demonstrated to decrease over 18 days. A significant portion of precipitated Pu was found to be insoluble in 8 M HNO3 at ambient temperature, but essentially quantitative Pu dissolution was achieved in 11.5 M HNO3/0.1 M potassium fluoride at 100°C. The difficulty in dissolving the Pu precipitate is believed to be due to the formation of refractory PuO2•xH2O during the neutralization process. Initial Gd concentrations of ~37 to 38 g/L were found to result in a greater aluminum precipitation when neutralized to 0.6 M OH− than initial Gd concentrations of ~3 to 6 g/L. Physical properties of the resultant slurries were measured and used to calculate limiting flow rates and slurry velocities by gravity only in transfer piping between the Savannah River Site’s H-Canyon Facility and the Concentration, Storage, and Transfer Facility. These results were compared to calculated deposition velocities to predict if solids would settle during the transfer. The Newtonian model was found to be reasonable for each diluted slurry evaluated. Deposition velocities of Pu-containing slurries are lower than nuclear fuel slurries primarily composed of uranium because of the high density of Pu solids. Dilution of slurries reduces the margin between the slurry and the deposition velocities due to the reduction in viscosity because higher viscous forces on the particles promote maintained suspension.