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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
Meeting Spotlight
International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver 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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Latest News
Argonne’s METL gears up to test more sodium fast reactor components
Argonne National Laboratory has successfully swapped out an aging cold trap in the sodium test loop called METL (Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop), the Department of Energy announced April 23. The upgrade is the first of its kind in the United States in more than 30 years, according to the DOE, and will help test components and operations for the sodium-cooled fast reactors being developed now.
Luis Alva, Xinyu Huang (Univ of South Carolina), George Jacobsen (General Atomics)
Proceedings | 2018 International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants (ICAPP 2018) | Charlotte, NC, April 8-11, 2018 | Pages 598-604
The nuclear fuel cladding undergoes severe thermal shock during reflooding of the nuclear core after a loss of coolant accident (LOCA). The purpose of this work is to evaluate the resistance of SiCf-SiCm composite cladding to such thermal shock events. In order to achieve this goal, a nuclear grade SiCf-SiCm composite tube, manufactured by General Atomics (GA), was quenched from an outer surface temperature of 1000 ºC into room temperature (RT) water and hot water. The composite tube was heated by a tungsten rod placed inside the tubular sample to simulate the fuel pellet. The tungsten rod was heated to a centerline temperature of 1400 ºC by an induction coil. To monitor the progressive damage of the SiCf-SiCm composite tube, the acoustic emission (AE) technique is used to acquire the acoustic signals during the test. The samples quenched into RT water showed visible cracks while the sample quenched in hot water did not. Some of the AE signals are related to cracks in the material during quenching. After quenching, the burst strength of the SiCf-SiCm composite tube is measured using a bladder technique. Results show that the SiCf-SiCm composite tube retains more than 88% of its strength after quenching.