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Division Spotlight
Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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
Can hydrogen be the transportation fuel in an otherwise nuclear economy?
Let’s face it: The global economy should be powered primarily by nuclear power. And it probably will by the end of this century, with a still-significant assist from renewables and hydro. Once nuclear systems are dominant, the costs come down to where gas is now; and when carbon emissions are reduced to a small portion of their present state, it will become obvious that most other sources are only good in niche settings. I mean, why use small modular reactors to load-follow when they can just produce that power instead of buffering it?
David E. Holcomb (ORNL), Roger A. Kisner (ORNL (retired)), K. Kyle Reed, James Bate, James R. Keiser (ORNL)
Proceedings | Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface Technolgies (NPIC&HMIT 2019) | Orlando, FL, February 9-14, 2019 | Pages 222-237
A novel in-situ corrosion sensor for structural alloys exposed to molten salts has been initially demonstrated. The measurement is based upon observing the change in magnetic susceptibility of salt wetted structural alloys as corrosion occurs. In halide salts corrosion of structural alloys proceeds primarily through dissolution of the least noble component of the alloy into the melt. All currently available structural alloys intended for use with molten salt reactors (MSRs) include nickel, chromium, and iron. Chromium is preferentially oxidized from the alloy surface by exposure to halide salts at high temperature. Diffusion within the alloy results in progressively deeper depletion of chromium from the alloy surface. Relevant chromium bearing structural alloys are paramagnetic. However, once the chromium has been depleted, they become ferromagnetic. Thus, structural alloy corrosion in an MSR results in development of a ferromagnetic surface layer whose depth increases with increasing corrosion. The corrosion sensor functions by employing the progressive increase in ferromagnetism as a transduction mechanism through including the corroding alloy in a magnetic circuit. To date we have characterized the sensor response of structural alloy samples with varying degrees of corrosion at room temperature. Over the next year, we plan to demonstrate sensor performance at MSR operating temperatures (up to 750 °C) in a piping geometry. Development of the sensor remains a work in progress as the aim is to install a corrosion monitor to operate over extended periods with only the corroding component exposed to salt (which could be the pipe itself). This configuration can be accomplished so that measurement magnetics and electronics are external to the pipe. Presumably, the instrument would continuously relay corrosion progress via electronic communications.