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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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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?
Hiroki Takezawa, Toru Obara
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 171 | Number 1 | May 2012 | Pages 1-12
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE09-59
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This work aims to show the possibility of using the integral kinetic model, which is applicable to any geometry, for general space-dependent kinetic analysis. A space-dependent kinetic analysis methodology and code were developed based on the integral kinetic model. The developed kinetic analysis code was verified by comparing results from the developed code with the one-point model in the Godiva reactor geometry. It is possible to explain discrepancies between the two kinetic models using error introduced into Cij() in the fitting process of original Monte Carlo data Cij(kΔ). This is because the fitting error changes the mean generation time of a system. The verification concluded that it is important to always monitor the fitting error introduced to Cij() in order to understand the calculation results of the developed code. The space-dependent kinetic analysis code was also demonstrated in a fast-thermal coupled reactor geometry including feedback effects. The demonstration results showed a time difference in kinetic behaviors between a fast region and a thermal region that was theoretically expected to appear. In conclusion, this work shows a new approach to solving general space-dependent kinetic problems by using the integral kinetic model including feedback effects.