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
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
April 2026
Latest News
Weaver NRC reappointment gets OK, Senate vote next
The U.S. Senate’s Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee has recommended Douglas Weaver be reappointed to a full five-year term on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission after his current term expires on June 30.
The committee voted 15-4 in support of Weaver’s nomination on Wednesday, clearing the way for a final vote on the Senate floor. If the Senate votes to confirm Weaver, he would serve on the NRC through June 30, 2031.
Martin L. Grossbeck, Kenneth C. Liu
Nuclear Technology | Volume 58 | Number 3 | September 1982 | Pages 538-547
Technical Paper | Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT82-A32987
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Received July 6, 1981 Accepted for Publication March 18, 1982 In a tokamak reactor that operates in a cyclic mode, thermal stresses will result in fatigue in structural components, especially in the first wall and blanket. There has been limited work on fatigue in irradiated alloys, but none on irradiated materials containing irradiation-induced helium, which will be characteristic of fusion service. Specimens of 20% cold-worked Type 316 stainless steel were irradiated in the High Flux Isotope Reactor, which produces atomic displacement damage as well as helium through a two-step neutron absorption reaction with nickel. The specimens were irradiated at 430°C to up to 15 dpa and 900 at. ppm helium. Following irradiation, specimens were tested in a vacuum at the irradiation temperature with total strain ranges from 0.30 to 2.0%. The irradiated specimens exhibited a reduction in fatigue life of a factor of 3 to 10 compared to unirradiated material. An endurance limit was observed at a total strain range of 0.3%) for irradiated material. A fracture mechanism with surface morphology similar to cleavage, believed to be related to precipitation along slip bands, was observed in the irradiated specimens. The endurance limit occurs at a sufficiently high strain that fusion machines built to existing designs would be able to operate with Type 316 stainless steel first walls at 430°C. Since the specimens have been irradiated to damage levels only as high as 15 dpa, the equivalent of ∼1.5 MWyr/m2, it can be safely inferred that wall exposure can be at least this high without fatigue failure.