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Division Spotlight
Accelerator Applications
The division was organized to promote the advancement of knowledge of the use of particle accelerator technologies for nuclear and other applications. It focuses on production of neutrons and other particles, utilization of these particles for scientific or industrial purposes, such as the production or destruction of radionuclides significant to energy, medicine, defense or other endeavors, as well as imaging and diagnostics.
Meeting Spotlight
2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
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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Jun 2025
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Smarter waste strategies: Helping deliver on the promise of advanced nuclear
At COP28, held in Dubai in 2023, a clear consensus emerged: Nuclear energy must be a cornerstone of the global clean energy transition. With electricity demand projected to soar as we decarbonize not just power but also industry, transport, and heat, the case for new nuclear is compelling. More than 20 countries committed to tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050. In the United States alone, the Department of Energy forecasts that the country’s current nuclear capacity could more than triple, adding 200 GW of new nuclear to the existing 95 GW by mid-century.
Samuel Durbin, Ramon Pulido, Philip Jones, Adrian Perales
Nuclear Technology | Volume 210 | Number 9 | September 2024 | Pages 1672-1684
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2024.2302727
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The formation of a stress corrosion crack (SCC) in the canister wall of a dry cask storage system (DCSS) has been identified as a potential issue for the long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel. The presence of a SCC in a storage system could represent a through-wall flow path from the canister interior to the environment. Modern, vertical DCSSs are of particular interest due to the commercial practice of using relatively high helium backfill pressures (up to approximately 800 kPa) in the canister to enhance internal natural convection. This pressure differential offers a comparatively high driving potential for blowdown of any particulates that might be present in the canister in the event of a through-wall SCC.
In this study, the rates of gas flow and aerosol transmission of a spent fuel surrogate through an engineered microchannel with dimensions representative of a SCC were evaluated experimentally using coupled mass flow and aerosol analyzers. The microchannel was formed by mating two gauge blocks with a linearly tapering slot orifice nominally 13 μm (0.0005 in.) tall on the upstream side and 25 μm (0.001 in.) tall on the downstream side. The orifice is 12.7 mm (0.500 in.) wide by 8.89 mm (0.350 in.) long (flow length). Surrogate aerosols of cerium oxide (CeO2) were seeded and mixed with either helium or air inside a pressurized tank. The aerosol characteristics were measured immediately upstream and downstream of the simulated SCC at elevated and ambient pressures, respectively.
The next iteration of testing involves replacing the engineered microchannel with lab-grown SCCs. Preliminary clean flow testing has been conducted on SCC samples provided by the Electric Power Research Institute. These data sets demonstrate a new capability to characterize SCCs under well-controlled boundary conditions. Preliminary testing efforts are focused on understanding the evolution in both the size and quantity of a hypothetical release of aerosolized spent fuel particles from failed fuel cladding into the canister interior, and ultimately, through a SCC.
