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Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
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2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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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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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Retrieval of nuclear waste canisters from a borehole
Borehole disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level waste (HLW) uses off-the-shelf directional drilling technology developed and commercialized by the oil and gas sectors. It is a technology that has been gaining traction in recent years in the nuclear industry. Disposal can be done in one or more boreholes (including an array) drilled into suitable sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic host rocks. Waste is encapsulated in specialized corrosion-resistant canisters, which are placed end to end in disposal sections of relatively small-diameter boreholes that have been cased and fluid-filled. After emplacement, the vertical access hole is plugged and backfilled as an engineered barrier.
Carlos E. Velasquez, Graiciany P. Barros, Claubia Pereira, Maria Auxiliadora F. Veloso, Antonella L. Costa
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 68 | Number 3 | October 2015 | Pages 625-629
Technical Paper | Proceedings of TOFE-2014 | doi.org/10.13182/FST14-949
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Different first wall material proposals based on tungsten alloy WNiFe, WLa2O3, W1.1TiC, W26Re, beryllium alloy S-B65, stainless steel SS316 and graphite have been studied in the last years. These materials must be capable of withstanding high temperature and neutron flux. Nevertheless, using hybrid systems, the first wall material choice could influence the criticality system due to the different properties of each material. To analyze this influence, two hybrid reactors were evaluated. The first one is a Tokamak based on magnetic confinement and the second one based on inertial confinement. Both systems contain a transmutation layer with reprocessed fuel spiked with thorium. The results showed the principal nuclides affected in the transmutation layer and the differences in the criticality due to neutron flux variations produced by the changes in the first wall material.