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.
Division Spotlight
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.
Meeting Spotlight
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Taking shape: Fusion energy ecosystems built with public-private partnerships
It’s possible to describe fusion in simple terms: heat and squeeze small atoms to get abundant clean energy. But there’s nothing simple about getting fusion ready for the grid.
Private developers, national lab and university researchers, suppliers, and end users working toward that goal are developing a range of complex technologies to reach fusion temperatures and pressures, confounded by science and technology gaps linked to plasma behavior; materials, diagnostics, and electronics for extreme environments; fuel cycle sustainability; and economics.
Michael S. Peck, Tushar K. Ghosh, Mark A. Prelas
Nuclear Technology | Volume 184 | Number 3 | December 2013 | Pages 351-363
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-A24991
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The sulfur-iodine and hybrid-sulfur thermochemical cycles that can utilize high-temperature heat from advanced nuclear reactors have shown promise economically for large-scale production of hydrogen from water. Both of these cycles employ a step to decompose sulfuric acid to sulfur trioxide by heating it above 723 K followed by the catalytic decomposition to sulfur dioxide at a temperature >1073 K depending on the catalyst used. Successful commercial implementation of these technologies is dependent on the development of suitable materials for use in these highly corrosive environments. In this study, a laboratory-scale superheater/decomposer was constructed and used to study the corrosion resistance of natural diamond, synthetic diamond films treated with boron and titanium, silicon carbide, quartz, aluminum nitride, INCONEL, and platinum to sulfuric acid and SO3. However, it appeared that some of these materials catalyzed SO3 to SO2 and O radicals, which also attacked these materials, increasing their corrosion rates.Natural diamonds, synthetic diamond films (treated with boron and titanium), aluminum nitride, and INCONEL have unacceptable corrosion rates above 873 K. Both the boron- and titanium-treated diamond samples completely disintegrated at temperatures >973 K. The high corrosion rates may have resulted from carbons in diamond having a higher preference for oxygen free radicals that were formed during the decomposition process. Oxygen free radical concentrations increased as a function of the increasing temperature.The present study showed that silicon carbide had the best corrosion resistance over the range of conditions at which the superheater would operate. Quartz was also corrosion resistant but became brittle after 30 h of exposure to this harsh environment. Platinum, used as a catalyst to reduce the decomposition temperatures, exhibited almost no corrosion when exposed to decomposition products. However, platinum did corrode when exposed to liquid sulfuric acid at high temperatures.