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.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Jun 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2026
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Two steps forward for U.K. advanced nuclear
This week, two significant announcements have emerged from the United Kingdom’s advanced reactor sector.
On June 14, Rolls-Royce, the United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory, and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency announced that they had signed two trilateral memorandums of cooperation to collaborate on “advanced modular reactor (AMR) technology, specifically high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGR), and the coated particle fuel these reactors will use.”
Separately, on June 16, Bellevue, Wash.–based TerraPower announced that its Natrium reactor design has been formally submitted for U.K. regulatory review. The company also announced the formation of a new subsidiary, TerraPower UK Ltd.
David Garrido (ENSA), Steven Ross (PNNL), Paul E. McConnell, Willaim Uncapher (SNL), Philip Jensen, Nicholas Klymyshyn (PNNL), Sylvia Saltzstein, Ken Sorenson (SNL), Brady Hanson, Ralph Best (PNNL), William Shust (Objective Engineers), Jeff L. England (SRNS), Russ Walker, Ruben Pena (Transportation Technology Center, Inc.)
Proceedings | 16th International High-Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference (IHLRWM 2017) | Charlotte, NC, April 9-13, 2017 | Pages 72-78
The objective of the shock and vibration testing program is to quantify mechanical loads on fuel assembly components that would occur during normal conditions of transportation (NCT) by various modes. This information will guide materials research and establish a technical basis for review organizations such as the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). A significant body of experimental and numerical modeling data exists to quantify loads and failure limits applicable to NCT rail transport, but the data are either out-of-date relative to present day railroad operations and equipment, or are based on assumptions that can only be verified through experimental testing. The summary presented herein represents a collaboration among many stakeholders to define the path for acquiring new data that is needed to validate the assumptions of previous work, validate modelling methods that will be needed to evaluate the mechanical responses of used nuclear fuel that will be transported in the future in large rail casks, and inform material test campaigns on the anticipated range of stresses that will be imposed on nuclear fuel cladding. This work will include full scale testing of a used nuclear fuel cask, cradle, rail car, and surrogate fuel assemblies and will encompass intermodal transloading, heavy-haul truck transport, barge transport, ocean going vessel transport, and rail transport as well as captive track tests. The ultimate goal of this testing will be to close some of the existing knowledge gaps related to the mechanical loads that would be imposed on used nuclear fuel under NCT and inform the experiments and analysis efforts