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Isotopes & Radiation
Members are devoted to applying nuclear science and engineering technologies involving isotopes, radiation applications, and associated equipment in scientific research, development, and industrial processes. Their interests lie primarily in education, industrial uses, biology, medicine, and health physics. Division committees include Analytical Applications of Isotopes and Radiation, Biology and Medicine, Radiation Applications, Radiation Sources and Detection, and Thermal Power Sources.
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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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Latest News
Wyoming as a hub for new nuclear manufacturing and microreactor deployment?
A 60-year-old Wyoming industrial machinery company is partnering with nuclear innovator BWX Technologies to deploy 50-megawatt microreactors in America’s heartland over the coming years to provide carbon-free heat and power for industrial users.
Hiroshi Takahashi
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 20 | Number 4 | December 1991 | Pages 657-663
Accelerator/Reactor Waste Transmutation | doi.org/10.13182/FST91-A11946915
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
We propose the use of a proton accelerator to run a slightly subcritical fast breeder and incinerator of minor actinides. By injecting medium-energy protons into a subcritical assembly and by providing external neutrons produced by spallation and by high-energy fission reactions, the reactor can be operated in a safer condition than a reactor operated in a critical condition. The safety problems associated with super-criticality, which might be created by factors such as a positive Na void coefficient and fuel bowing, can be alleviated.
The metal-fueled fast breeder has small decrement in reactivity of power and burn-up, but by mixing the MA of 237Np with the oxide-fueled reactor, this decrement of reactivity can be reduced substantially. Thus, these reactors can be operated at a sub-criticality of k=0.99 with small beam proton power of 15 mA and 1 GeV energy (15 MW). This slightly subcritical condition produces a power distribution that is more or less flat, which is important from the point of view of reactor safety. The cost of the multi-stage cyclotron and linear accelerator and the proton energy for neutron yield is discussed.