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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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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New coolants, new fuels: A new generation of university reactors
Here’s an easy way to make aging U.S. power reactors look relatively youthful: Compare them (average age: 43) with the nation’s university research reactors. The 25 operating today have been licensed for an average of about 58 years.
J. Russell Hawthorne
Nuclear Technology | Volume 59 | Number 3 | December 1982 | Pages 440-455
Technical PaperTechnical Paper | The Backfill as an Engineered Barrier for Radioactive Waste Management / Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT82-A33002
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The effects of three levels of copper content and phosphorus content and two levels of sulfur content on radiation sensitivity and postirradiation heat treatment response were explored for a reactor pressure vessel steel, Type A302-B. Test plates for the investigation were produced from 182-kg (400-lb) laboratory melts. The contributions of individual elements were assessed from Charpy-V (CV) notch ductility changes with 288°C (550°F) irradiation and with a 343°C (650°F), 168-h postirradiation heat treatment. Limited studies of properties recovery by postirradiation 399°C (750°F) heat treatment were also made. Radiation embrittlement sensitivity, as shown by CV transition temperature elevation and CV upper shelf reduction, generally increased with increased copper and phosphorus content and with decreased sulfur content. Certain ranges of phosphorus and copper content were found to be more critical than others. Response to 343°C (650°F) postirradiation heat treatment, as evidenced by transition temperature recovery in degrees Celsius, appeared to be independent of copper, phosphorus, and sulfur content for the ranges investigated. Response to heat treatment also appeared to be independent of the magnitude of the prior transition temperature elevation by irradiation. On the other hand, a dependence of percentage recovery on impurity element content was observed. A dependence of upper shelf recovery on copper content was also found. Six of the eight plate compositions exhibited full upper shelf recovery but only small transition temperature recovery after 343°C (650°F) heat treatment.