ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
IAEA project aims to develop polymer irradiation model
The International Atomic Energy Agency has launched a new coordinated research project (CRP) aimed at creating a database of polymer-radiation interactions in the next five years with the long-term goal of using the database to enable machine learning–based predictive models.
Radiation-induced modifications are widely applicable across a range of fields including healthcare, agriculture, and environmental applications, and exposure to radiation is a major factor when considering materials used at nuclear power plants.
B. Laponche, M. Brunet, Y. Bouedo
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 48 | Number 3 | July 1972 | Pages 305-318
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE72-A22488
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A method is described for the analysis of oscillation measurements in critical assemblies where fissions are produced predominantly by thermal neutrons. The oscillation method developed in the CEA deals with the measurement of two signals: the “global” signal, which gives a representation of the sample reactivity, and the “local” signal, which gives the variation of the neutron density at the vicinity of the sample. Using a double calibration of the reactor by samples of enriched or depleted uranium and boronated uranium, it is possible to obtain independently the absorption and production reaction rates for plutonium in each sample, as a function of 235U reaction rates. The equivalent sample method is a more recent development and is based on the fact that a given perturbation of the absorption cross section, with any law of variation with energy in the thermal region, can be replaced by an absorption of well-known variation with energy which has the same effect on the neutronic density in the reactor beyond a small distance where spectrum effects are still appreciable. A series of measurements of uranium/plutonium rods performed in the CESAR reactor, from 20 to 400°C, is analyzed, and modifications of the absorption and fission cross sections of plutonium isotopes are proposed.