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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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
DOE-NE’s newest fuel consortium includes defense from antitrust laws
The Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy is setting up a nuclear fuel Defense Production Act Consortium that will seek voluntary agreements with interested companies “to increase fuel availability, provide more access to reliable power, and end America’s reliance on foreign sources of enriched uranium and critical materials needed to power the nation’s nuclear renaissance.” According to an August 22 DOE press release, the plan invokes the Defense Production Act (DPA) to give consortium members “defense from antitrust laws when certain criteria are met” and “allow industry consultation to develop plans of action.” DOE-NE is looking for interested companies to join the consortium ahead of its first meeting, scheduled for October 14.
R. S. Schley, D. H. Hurley, Z. Hua, S. J. Reese (INL)
Proceedings | Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface Technolgies (NPIC&HMIT 2019) | Orlando, FL, February 9-14, 2019 | Pages 1135-1142
Microstructure evolution due to irradiation in a nuclear reactor can have a dramatic effect on material properties. A better understanding of this evolution is necessary for developing improved nuclear fuels and materials. The ability to measure such changes in real time is extremely limited due to the harsh conditions, high radiation fields and limited access of the reactor environment. Through carefully designed experiments, measurement of elastic properties can be tied directly to microstructure. We present the methodology, design and deployment plan for an instrument that has been developed to monitor grain microstructural changes during irradiation. Our measurement approach involves exciting and measuring the resonant frequency of a thin cantilever beam. Excitation and detection of the flexural vibrations of the beam are accomplished using optical methods which require only an optical fiber connection between the instrumentation and the sample. This technique has been demonstrated in a laboratory setting to monitor the recrystallization of highly textured copper during high temperature annealing. A test capsule incorporating this technique has been developed for in-reactor testing. The capsule has been designed to be compatible with a reusable test module which allows simplified insertion in the TREAT reactor at INL. Irradiation in the TREAT reactor to monitor the recrystallization transition of a pure metal is planned for 2019.