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
2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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
Oct 2025
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
November 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
October 2025
Latest News
Researchers use one-of-a-kind expertise and capabilities to test fuels of tomorrow
At the Idaho National Laboratory Hot Fuel Examination Facility, containment box operator Jake Maupin moves a manipulator arm into position around a pencil-thin nuclear fuel rod. He is preparing for a procedure that he and his colleagues have practiced repeatedly in anticipation of this moment in the hot cell.
D. L. Smith
Nuclear Technology | Volume 20 | Number 3 | December 1973 | Pages 190-199
Technical Paper | Fuel | doi.org/10.13182/NT73-A31357
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The oxygen concentration of sodium in equilibrium with uranium-25% plutonium oxide fuel has been measured at temperatures of 650 to 900°C for fuels with oxygen-to-metal ratios of 1.90, 1.94, and 1.97. The oxygen concentration in sodium at the three-phase Na-MO2-x-Na3MO4 (M = uranium plus plutonium) equilibrium has also been measured for the same temperature range. This three-phase equilibrium was established by reacting mixed-oxide fuel with sodium to which Na2O had been added. The oxygen concentrations in sodium were determined by the vanadium-wire equilibration method. The oxygen concentration in sodium at the three-phase equilibrium varied from ∼0.1 to 0.4 ppm in the temperature range investigated. Oxygen concentrations in EBR-II primary sodium, which have been measured by the same method, vary from 0.4 to 0.9 ppm oxygen depending on the cold-trap operation. These values indicate that the sodium -fuel reaction product, i.e., Na3MO4, is stable in sodium at the temperatures (<1000°C) and oxygen levels present in EBR -II.
