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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.
Yeon Soo Kim, Gerard L. Hofman, James L. Snelgrove
Nuclear Technology | Volume 153 | Number 1 | January 2006 | Pages 18-24
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT06-A3686
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Fission gas release and fuel expansion of irradiated uranium-zirconium hydride fuel were measured during fuel heating to melting. The first indication of melting occurred at approximately the uranium-cladding eutectic temperature, whereas complete melting took place at the U metal melting point. Fission gas release began with the onset of uranium-cladding melting and gradually increased with rising temperature. Two sharp peaks in the fission gas release were observed corresponding to the events of uranium-zirconium eutectic melting and uranium melting. The fractional release was much higher than that measured previously for fuel without cladding at comparable temperatures.
