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Conference Spotlight
2025 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 9–12, 2025
Washington, DC|Washington Hilton
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The journey of the U.S. fuel cycle
Craig Piercycpiercy@ans.org
While most big journeys begin with a clear objective, they rarely start with an exact knowledge of the route. When commissioning the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1803, President Thomas Jefferson didn’t provide specific “turn right at the big mountain” directions to the Corps of Discovery. He gave goal-oriented instructions: explore the Missouri River, find its source, search for a transcontinental water route to the Pacific, and build scientific and cultural knowledge along the way.
Jefferson left it up to Lewis and Clark to turn his broad, geopolitically motivated guidance into gritty reality.
Similarly, U.S. nuclear policy has begun a journey toward closing the U.S. nuclear fuel cycle. There is a clear signal of support for recycling from the Trump administration, along with growing bipartisan excitement in Congress. Yet the precise path remains unclear.
Zoltán Hózer, Csaba Gyuori, Márta Horváth, Imre Nagy, László Maróti, Lajos Matus, Péter Windberg, József Frecska
Nuclear Technology | Volume 152 | Number 3 | December 2005 | Pages 273-285
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT05-A3676
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The results of single-rod and bundle ballooning tests with VVER (E110 type) cladding are presented. The comparative study of E110 and Zircaloy-4 showed a significant difference in behavior at 800 to 1000°C. The local maximum of mechanical strength was observed at a low oxidation rate. The pressurization rate played a considerable role in the burst conditions. The rate of the temperature increase and the iodine pretreatment did not significantly influence the mechanical behavior of the fuel rods under accident conditions in the investigated range of parameters. The maximum blockage rate observed in the bundle tests remained below 80%. The experimental data were collected into a database for model development and code validation purposes.
