ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Radiation Protection & Shielding
The Radiation Protection and Shielding Division is developing and promoting radiation protection and shielding aspects of nuclear science and technology — including interaction of nuclear radiation with materials and biological systems, instruments and techniques for the measurement of nuclear radiation fields, and radiation shield design and evaluation.
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2024
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.
William C. Tucker, Piyas Chowdhury, Lauren J. Abbott, Justin B. Haskins
Nuclear Technology | Volume 207 | Number 6 | June 2021 | Pages 825-835
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2020.1850162
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The development and qualification of nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) fuel element technologies would be aided by an in-depth model of material response and failure modes at operating conditions. Integrated computational materials engineering techniques have the potential to provide such a model, as demonstrated here through three case studies focused on a tungsten–uranium mononitride (UN) cermet fuel. The first case focuses on the erosion of tungsten (also named wolfram), a nominal coating/cladding and fuel element matrix material, in hot hydrogen. Ab initio techniques are used to calculate erosion rates and thermal expansion at NTP operating conditions. The second focuses on the stability of UN fuels at high temperature and in the presence of hydrogen. Phase diagram techniques augmented with ab initio thermodynamic data reveal potential instabilities and decomposition pathways at high hydrogen concentrations. The third focuses on using microstructure information to predict high-temperature mechanical response and failure of tungsten. Combined finite element and discrete dislocation dynamics techniques provide mechanical properties in agreement with experimental methods. The integration of these techniques for an all-encompassing material model is discussed.