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
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Jun 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
August 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
July 2025
Latest News
World Bank, IAEA partner to fund nuclear energy
The World Bank and the International Atomic Energy Agency signed an agreement last week to cooperate on the construction and financing of advanced nuclear projects in developing countries, marking the first partnership since the bank ended its ban on funding for nuclear energy projects.
Mark L. Crowder, James E. Laurinat, John A. Stillman
Nuclear Technology | Volume 176 | Number 2 | November 2011 | Pages 309-313
Technical Paper | Radiation Measurements and General Instrumentation | doi.org/10.13182/NT11-A13305
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A straightforward method to determine the tritium content of Zircaloy-2 cladding hulls via oxidation of the hulls and capture of the volatilized tritium in liquids has been demonstrated. Hull samples were heated in air inside a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). The TGA was rapidly heated to 1000°C to oxidize the hulls and to release absorbed tritium. To capture tritium, the TGA off-gas was bubbled through a series of liquid traps. The concentrations of tritium in bubbler solutions indicated that nearly all of the tritiated water vapor was captured. The average tritium content measured in the hulls was 19% of the amount of tritium produced by the fuel, according to ORIGEN2 isotope generation and depletion calculations. Published experimental data show that there is an initial, nonlinear oxidation rate for Zircaloy-2 followed by a faster, linear rate after "breakaway" of the oxide film and that the linear rate follows an Arrhenius model. This study demonstrates that the linear oxidation rate of Zircaloy samples at 974°C is faster than predicted by the extrapolation of data from lower temperatures.