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Division Spotlight
Materials Science & Technology
The objectives of MSTD are: promote the advancement of materials science in Nuclear Science Technology; support the multidisciplines which constitute it; encourage research by providing a forum for the presentation, exchange, and documentation of relevant information; promote the interaction and communication among its members; and recognize and reward its members for significant contributions to the field of materials science in nuclear technology.
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
Digital control system installed at China’s Linglong One
Earlier this month, the first digital control system was put in place at Linglong One, a small modular reactor demonstration project being built at the Changjiang nuclear power plant in Hainan Province. This is the world’s first land-based commercial SMR and is controlled by China National Nuclear Power Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).
Christopher Matthews, Cetin Unal, Jack Galloway, Dennis D. Keiser, Jr., Steven L. Hayes
Nuclear Technology | Volume 198 | Number 3 | June 2017 | Pages 231-259
Critical Review | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2017.1323535
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Fuel-cladding chemical interaction (FCCI) is a phenomenon that occurs at the fuel-cladding interface during the irradiation of U-Zr and U-Pu-Zr metallic nuclear fuel and stainless steel cladding. The inter-diffusion zone that develops places both the fuel and cladding at risk through the reduction in cladding strength and the formation of a (U,Pu)/Fe eutectic in the fuel. Due to the impact FCCI has on limiting fuel pin burnup, there is a need for better understanding of the governing FCCI mechanisms in order to make accurate predictions using fuel-performance codes. By performing a critical review of previous work, the physics of FCCI can be separated into individual phenomena so that targeted models can be developed for each. Through examination of experiments conducted both in- and out-of-reactor, the behavior of lanthanides provides a natural separation of models by tracking their behavior through (1) production and transport in the fuel to the clad, (2) interaction with macroscopic changes in fuel topography including cracking and swelling, and finally (3) inter-diffusion at the fuel-cladding interface. Informed by past experience, phenomenological models can be built for each separate effect and subsequently combined in an integral fuel-performance simulation. Prototypical simulation approaches at each level have been included, as well as suggestions for several experiments to help bolster the understanding of irradiated fuel. A robust and predictive FCCI model will provide fuel-performance codes with the ability to predict clad failure and/or fuel eutectic melting. Armed with this information, advanced concepts such as palladium doped fuel, ODS steels, or mitigating reactor designs may be able to reduce FCCI enough to extend fuel burnup beyond its current limits, potentially boosting safety margins and reducing cost through higher fuel utilization.