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Conference Spotlight
2026 Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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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
What’s the most difficult question you’ve been asked as a maintenance instructor?
Blye Widmar
"Where are the prints?!"
This was the final question in an onslaught of verbal feedback, comments, and critiques I received from my students back in 2019. I had two years of instructor experience and was teaching a class that had been meticulously rehearsed in preparation for an accreditation visit. I knew the training material well and transferred that knowledge effectively enough for all the students to pass the class. As we wrapped up, I asked the students how they felt about my first big system-level class, and they did not hold back.
“Why was the exam from memory when we don’t work from memory in the plant?” “Why didn’t we refer to the vendor documents?” “Why didn’t we practice more on the mock-up?” And so on.
M. Mirandou, S. Aricó, R. Sanabria, S. Balart, D. Podestá, J. Fabro
Nuclear Technology | Volume 199 | Number 1 | July 2017 | Pages 96-102
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2017.1323534
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Because of their good behavior under irradiation, fuel elements based on U3Si2 particles dispersed in an Al matrix have been used to convert to low-enriched uranium in a large number of research reactors. This behavior is extended to any compound grown by interdiffusion between silicide and Al during the fabrication process.
In this work, two plates fabricated with U3Si2 particles dispersed in an Al matrix were analyzed by optical and scanning electron microscopies, wave length dispersive microanalysis, and X-ray diffraction after the fabrication process. The results show that U(Al,Si)3 together with another phase with the same crystalline structure as U3Si2 but modified cell volume was formed.
A detailed analysis of fuel elements based on U3Si2 is considered very useful to be applied when going into greater depth in the frame of a U(Mo) qualification program.
