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Division Spotlight
Decommissioning & Environmental Sciences
The mission of the Decommissioning and Environmental Sciences (DES) Division is to promote the development and use of those skills and technologies associated with the use of nuclear energy and the optimal management and stewardship of the environment, sustainable development, decommissioning, remediation, reutilization, and long-term surveillance and maintenance of nuclear-related installations, and sites. The target audience for this effort is the membership of the Division, the Society, and the public at large.
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
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Nuclear Technology
August 2024
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.
T. Fei, M. J. Driscoll, E. Shwageraus
Nuclear Technology | Volume 186 | Number 3 | June 2014 | Pages 378-389
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-21
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the neutronic feasibility and competitive fuel cycle economics of sodium fast reactors operating with uranium metal (UZr) fuel on a once-through fuel cycle. Uranium startup fast reactors (USFRs) decouple their deployment from that of expensive reprocessing and recycle facilities. This could facilitate and speed up the deployment of conventional fast reactors, which, in their traditional designs, heavily depend on the availability of reprocessing facilities for transuranic fuel production. The uranium requirement and fuel cycle cost of studied USFR core designs are calculated to be comparable to those of typical light water reactors. The main design constraint is the fast neutron fluence imposed on the cladding material, which is required to be below 5.0×1023 n/cm2 even for advanced oxide dispersion strengthened steels. Therefore, moderators need to be inserted in the fuel assemblies to lower the fast neutron flux so that the fuel residence time limited by neutron fluence can be extended to match the reactivity limited fuel residence time. In this study, magnesium oxide is used for reflectors as well as for the moderator.