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
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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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Latest News
NWMO to select Canadian repository site this year
Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organization, a not-for-profit organization responsible for the long-term management of the country’s intermediate- and high-level radioactive waste, is set to select a site for a deep geologic repository by the end of the year.
Ronald G. Ballinger, Jeongyoun Lim
Nuclear Technology | Volume 147 | Number 3 | September 2004 | Pages 418-435
Technical Paper | Medium-Power Lead-Alloy Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT04-A3540
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The viability of advanced Pb- or Pb-Bi-cooled fast reactor systems will depend on the development of classes of materials that can operate over the temperature range 650-1200°C. We briefly review the current state of the technology concerning the interaction of Pb and Pb-Bi alloys with structural materials. We then identify the key challenges to successful use of materials in these systems and suggest a path forward to the development of new materials and operating methods to allow higher-temperature operation. Our focus is on the necessary trade-offs that must be considered and how these trade-offs influence R&D choices. Our analysis suggests that three classes of materials will be needed for successful deployment of a lead-alloy-cooled reactor system. A lower-temperature qualified material will be necessary for the pressure boundary. The structural and cladding materials will require 1000°C- and 1200°C-class materials. The 1000°C-class material will be exposed to the 1000°C coolant. The 1200°C-class material will be required for the cladding and structural materials in the core region. The higher-temperature material will be required to accommodate anticipated temperature transients from potential accident scenarios, such as a loss of flow.